Killing Patient Zero
- Director: Laurie Lynd
- Writer: Laurie Lynd
- Producer: Corey Russell
CGiii Comment
Everyone should watch this...this is revisionism at its very best...as they say, better late than never.
A young, beautiful man - for years - was reviled and vilified...and now 30 plus years after his death...vindicated. Better late than never.
Tell that to his family and friends.
Tell that to those who blamed him, to those who demonised him...to the by-liners who capitalised on his demise and death.
Gaëtan Dugas was not just a victim...he became the CDC's scapegoat. Because...their ineptitude along with the inadequate Reagan administration caused a genocide of gay men...whether it was mindfully or mindlessly done...well, that's the subject for an other revisionist documentary. But...one thing is clear, they blamed one man [as did Randy Shilts] through a seriously stupid statistical analysis...aka The 1984 Cluster Study.
Laurie Lynd has skillfully combined science, fact, opinion with deeply affecting testimonies...exonerating Monsieur Dugas once and for always. Better late than never.
But...the film doesn't stop there...it goes further than expected, into a seldom addressed realm: The legacy of AIDS.
Fascinating...what we wouldn't have now, what we have now...thanks to AIDS!!! Isn't that a harsh and bitter and tragic irony!?!
So...let us not forget them...those who gave their life.
To Gaëtan Dugas...on behalf of the community I belong to...rather than apologise we should make amends to your memory. This film is a good start...but, you deserve more, much more.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Gaetan Dugas was openly gay. In early 1980s he contracted what was termed "gay cancer". He provided blood samples and 72 names of his former sex partners. Dugas was demonized for his promiscuity and wrongfully identified as patient zero.