Un printemps de glace

It's hard to believe that 'An Early Frost' was made for TV in 1985. I watched it for the first time on 11 November 2008 - 23 years after it was released - and I found it surprisingly fresh and enduring. Although it's an important historic record of the early response to AIDS (and for that reason alone is worth watching) it's more an exploration of family love and courage. The script is well-written, production values are high and the acting is uniformly excellent. Sylvia Sidney won a Golden Globe for her part as the grandmother, but the other main actors including Aidan Quinn (as the young man suffering from AIDS), Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands (playing his parents) are all excellent. A very rewarding experience.

first the acting....Aidan Quinn was apre heath ledger winner...both tackled the gay roles with finesse and ability. Gena rowlands her eyes gave some of the best emotions of the film. and the gay dude in the hospital so real even my straight brother felt for him. what a great movie full of love and pain. while it teaches us to be safe with our sex lives...it makes us realize how much life is fragile. i saw it 10 years in intervals and i remembered how the music score had touched me and how much...for its time this movie was important to all and ahead of its time. miss Sidney also was a cool grandma...and Ben gazzara....really got our hearts pounding. never to be forgotten.

Eight years before "Philadelphia" Aidan Quinn starred in this groundbreaking film about AIDS. Even though this was "Made for TV", it is superbly done. Gena Rowlands is wonderful (as usual). Some might think that this film is dated, however, sometimes it is good to look back to see the way things were in the past to face the future.

An Early Frost reflects the underlying principal that love and compassion are stronger than fear. In this respect, the broadcast fueled an operative for the gay community, and world at large, to learn from and build upon.

The acting is uniformly excellent. The script allows the actors excellent opportunities. Aiden Quinn (whose voice and approach is reminiscent of Montgomery Clift) goes through the emotional gamut with grace and believability. As his grandmother, veteran actress Sylvia Sidney's skill easily fuels two tear-inducing scenes that not only provide emotional release for the viewer, but drive the message home. While Michael is hospitalized from a seizure, we see Sidney and her daughter(Gene Rowlands)outside trimming roses. Sidney comments about "an early frost … nipping them in the bud." She reflects on how people shunned her husband when he had died of cancer. At a loss for words the two embrace—capturing the heartache that envelops them.

The cast, in true ensemble spirit allow their characters to reach the power point of unconditional love. The film was instructive on the basic ramifications of the AIDS virus, and helped dispel the unnecessary fear and rumors surrounding it. An Early Frost made people think about the senseless vitriol that was being aimed at the gay community.

I don't know why I do this to myself. I've been HIV+ since 1994, and every once in awhile, I feel the need to torture myself and watch something like this. I remember clearly when it was first on. It didn't mean much to me then, but I just watched it tonight on LOGO, and I cried my eyes out. The information on AIDS is soooo dated, but the emotions are so real. Aiden Quinn was terrific, as were Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara. John Glover seems to have made a mini-career out of playing the role he plays here, as he played it again in "Love, Valour, Compassion" (also excellent). Whatever happened to D.W. Moffat? I think, if I recall correctly, that this was the first movie or TV show to really deal with AIDS. The disease had only been named in 1981, so it was only 4 years later. It still holds up.