SummaryWe Were Here documents the coming of what was called the “Gay Plague” in the early 1980s. It illuminates the profound personal and community issues raised by the AIDS epidemic as well as the broad political and social upheavals it unleashed. It offers a cathartic validation for the generation that suffered through, and responded to, the onset of... Read More
Directed By:David Weissman, Bill Weber
We Were Here
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
94
User score
Generally Favorable
6.4
My Score
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
100% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Sep 29, 2011
100
The most gripping war movie you'll see this year, We Were Here tells first-hand the story of how AIDS attacked San Francisco, killing more than 15,000. Whole peer groups were happy, healthy, and then dead in months.
Sep 8, 2011
100
Throughout We Were Here there is not a hint of mawkishness, self-pity or self-congratulation. The humility, wisdom and cumulative sorrow expressed lend the film a glow of spirituality and infuse it with grace.
User score
Generally Favorable
58% Positive
49 Ratings
49 Ratings
22% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
20% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
Mar 28, 2017
10
I didn't know anything about the epidemic until I read about it on Reddit since it wasn't that big of a thing in Asia, and I was born after the 80s. I have been doing research on this epidemic since then. This documentary moves you in a way that other HIV/AIDS documentaries don't. As the subjects talk about their personal, firsthand experience of deaths in the gay community, you can basically see the whole epidemic unfolding as it happened. Ultimately however, the major theme is not about death but how the epidemic brought out the best in people. This is a very heartbreaking and beautiful documentary and I am very glad that it exists.
Jun 18, 2012
10
t is already hard to find a good documentary and it's even miraculously harder for me to find such cheerful, heartbreaking and such accomplished documentary such as this piece of work. The story was uniquely **** lying so near to us. The film told both from the individual to a bigger picture as the community in their fight aginst HIV in such emotional ugly-passionate expression. Too Great to be missed.
Sep 6, 2011
90
A simple, powerful act of bearing witness, We Were Here is a sober reminder of the not-too-distant past, when gays were focused not on honeymoon plans but on keeping people alive.
Sep 6, 2011
80
It's far from a definitive statement-why does ACT UP, a seminal presence in SF, get such short shrift? - but this oral history provides a righteous cri de coeur for those who perished in the precocktail era.
Sep 6, 2011
75
Simply and devastatingly letting five residents of San Francisco share their reminiscences of that city's nightmarish "war zone" in the early, horrific years of AIDS, We Were Here creates a harrowing, streamlined oral history.
Nov 20, 2011
10
What it lacks in revelation it makes up for in sheer gut-punching emotion, proving that just because a movie is a documentary doesn't mean it can't be as involving and as utterly compelling as the best fiction.
Nov 20, 2011
10
Absolutely spellbinding -- as a narrative, completely absorbing; as a document of the times, illuminating; as a film, impeccably made. This and "Senna" are easily the best documentaries I've seen this year, or in the past several years. Most highly recommended.
Nov 7, 2011
10
If you lived through this holocaust as someone significantly affected by it, watching this film could provide a powerful catharsis of the emotions that so many of us had to repress in order to survive the relentless onslaught of illness and death of our chosen families in the late 80's and early 90's. But don't do it alone--go with a close friend you can share with afterwards. Ultimately, this film left me with a wide open heart full of gratitude, inspiration, a renewed faith in humanity, and something like pride in how we came together as a community to care for each other.
Oct 1, 2011
10
Astonishingly powerful film about Aids in San Francisco in the 80s and the Gay community's response.
I strongly urge everyone to cast trepidation aside and go see this film. Your heart will thank you.
Apr 29, 2016
9
We Were Here shows how emotional these times have come and I've felt a scratch about these things. This documentary, as a normal person that's running out of things to say would say, rocks!
Production Company:
- Weissman Projects
Release Date:Sep 9, 2011
Duration:1 h 30 m
Tagline:The AIDS Years in San Francisco
Website:
Awards
Dorian Film Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Newport Beach Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
KASHISH Pride Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
