3 Needles

Although it's not quite as effective, 3 Needles does for the AIDS crisis what Traffic did for drugs or Babel for the interconnectedness of human events: it offers a global slant. Writer-director-producer Thom Fitzgerald's 2005 film employs an impressive cast, some fabulous cinematography, and five languages to tell three stories on separate continents. In China, a woman (Lucy Liu) pays peasants in a small village to donate blood, which she then sells on the black market—after that the entire village falls ill, and no one seems to know why. In Montreal, a young HIV-positive porn actor (Shawn Ashmore) cheats on a blood test, with harrowing results both for his fellow thespians ("You killed me for $800," says one actress) and for his mother (Stockard Channing, outstanding in a decidedly quirky role), who deals with the news of her son's infection in a strange and macabre manner. Finally, three nuns (Sandra Oh, Chloe Sevigny, and Olympia Dukakis) arrive in a coastal African town where the virus is running rampant—and where men believe that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure them. 3 Needles is never mawkish or heavy-handed (in fact, AIDS isn't even mentioned by name) and the grim subject matter is often tempered with gentle humor. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include deleted scenes and two AIDS-related featurettes: “China AIDS Initiative” with Magic Johnson and Yao Ming and “House on Fire—AIDS in America.” Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid film.] (S. Graham)