La délivrance

I saw this movie many times as a child, my mom had recorded it on TV. It is about a family with 3 children, all boys with hemophilia. The oldest gets AIDS from the medicine he takes to help his blood clot. Back before 1985, the medicine was derived from pooled human blood, unscreened for diseases like HIV or HepC. Imagine my surprise to deliver my first child in 2002 and find him diagnosed with hemophilia, which wasn't inherited from my parents. This movie was all the information I had about hemophilia and it was so sad. Luckily, my son's life is nothing like that of the Ben in the movie. Yet, it is a good reminder of the pain the hemophilia community endured because of poor medical treatment. I'd like to find a way to get a copy of this movie.

I saw this movie for the first time when I was about 11. I didn't really understand the effects of AIDS on a person or on their family. This very touching movie really opened my eyes to what was going on all around me. I have grown up and never forgotten this movie (I still cry when I see it on TV), and I wish other kids could see this movie and get the same message I did out of it. I also realized that people with AIDS shouldn't be stereotyped and are just like everyone else (I felt so sorry when the school wouldn't let Ben back into school because of people's ignorance). Richard Thomas' explanation of death/a soul is also very helpful for a child with questions. Sad yet necessary film. Beautifully acted by everyone in the cast. Especially the actor who played young Ben, who was confused but very brave in his fight.

Having watched the outstanding performance of young Joshua Harris as Ben (being a mother of two young sons myself) I am wondering - this theme and this sort of acting must surely leave a mark on the child? How was Joshua Harris prepared for this film and how did he cope in normal life? Enacting the story of Ben must surely have left a deep - I think lifelong - impression of the saddest kind on Joshua Harris, perhaps even inflicting damage on such a tender soul, damage that cannot be healed. I would never have one of my children act in such a story. I do not say this to shield young children from sadness, I say this to shield them from unnecessary pain.

Nevertheless - a compelling film.

Children dying ... Hollywood has produced tearjerkers, depressing and uplifting versions of the story, naive ones, and this movie contains a bit of all of that. But I'm not saying this in a negative way ... the movie tries to do its best to tell the story in 90 minutes, and there will be few who don't feel coming up a tear or two while watching. It's definitely a "Hollywood TV movie", and it does have the look and feel of one. It's also a movie from the 80's, and that starts showing. But the message remains a powerful one : kids die too, and saying goodbye is painful. Aids can kill, and still scares people away. Force can be found in the medical world, in religion, and most importantly in one's own family.

superb performance by young Ben. Excellent also by parents especially Greg, Richard Thomas.