Every 11 minutes someone in America dies of AIDS. Like many statistics, this one is difficult to grasp: we see it on an intellectual level (acknowledging a brute fact), but it's hard, especially for those dwindling few who haven't lost a relative, lover, or acquaintance to AIDS, to understand the tragedy on an emotional level. After Goodbye: An AIDS Story personalizes AIDS (and viewers are advised to get out their handkerchiefs) by focusing on the terrible toll which the illness has taken on the members of the Turtle Creek Chorale, in Dallas, TX. Over the past 10 years, the angelic-sounding men's choir has lost 60 of its 200 members--an average of 2 per month. Narrated by actress Ruby Dee, After Goodbye combines interviews with members who have lost lovers, parents of sons who have died from AIDS, and noted authorities (including Elizabeth Kubler-Ross) on death, dying, and grieving. The focus of director Ginny Martin's affecting film is on the Turtle Creek Chorale rehearsing a powerful song cycle by the late TCC composer Chris Anthony, who set poet Peter McWilliams' lyrics about loss to music. Whether watching the men of the TCC trying to sing the beautiful "I Have Loved" while struggling to maintain their emotional composure, or listening to musical director Dr. Timothy Seelig keep laughter alive in the group, the film consistently pays tribute to the power of community, whether gay, or family, or organizational. While never losing sight of the real loss, After Goodbye also quietly celebrates the human spirit that rebounds in the face of almost mind-numbing adversity and stretches out that all important hand in times of trouble.A Friend Called Lyle is also about saying goodbye. Filmmaker Bob Markee's personal account of "a young woman's passage into death" chronicles the last year in the spirited life of Lyle Matthews, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 39. Using a hand-held video camera and a cinema verité approach, Markee follows Matthews through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining (in one poignant sequence, Matthews stands at the top of a canyon screaming "I want to live," in mock homage to the classic Susan Hayward tearjerker), and, ultimately, acceptance. Painful scenes of Matthew's emotional turmoil are bookended by scenes of humor and vibrancy (at one point, Matthews sits in a car at a shopping mall and offers a deadpan critique of the mindlessness of materialism, but--while waiting for Markee to return from the video store--concludes that "it is important to get videotapes.") a Friend Called Lyle is not an easy film to watch, but it is a beautiful one: whether she's appearing at a Mardi Gras party (one week before her death), or flowing through the fingers of friends and relations as her ashes are distributed on Chief Peak in Ojai, CA, Lyle Matthews commands our attention. That she teaches us something about going into that good night, gently, is a bonus.Both titles are highly recommended. (R. Pitman)
After Goodbye: an AIDS Story; A Friend Called Lyle
(1993) 60 min. $69.95. PBS Video. PPR. Color cover. Vol. 9, Issue 4
After Goodbye: an AIDS Story; A Friend Called Lyle
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: