We Were Here

Composite Score: 87.27

Featuring: Ed Wolf, Daniel Goldstein, Guy Clark, Eileen Glutzer, and Paul Boneberg

Director: David Weissman

Genres: Documentary, Biography, History, News

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Box Office: $1,873 worldwide

My take on Watching This Film:

                We Were Here is David Weissman’s documentary about the HIV/AIDS crisis in San Francisco during the 1980s. The film is comprised almost entirely of four interviews that serve as voiceover narration for an almost nonstop slideshow of images and footage from San Francisco during that time period. The four interviewees each have unique perspectives on the crisis – one as a political leader and activist, one as a victim and survivor, one as an up-close observer and staple of the community, one as a nurse who worked with AIDS patients, and one as a counselor who found a new niche for himself in a community where he had struggled for so long to fit in. By skillfully combining each of these witnesses’ narratives, Weissman gives the audience a cohesive view of the crisis while also ensuring that we as the audience have plenty of faces to put with it, encouraging empathy for those who survived and celebration for the improvements that have taken place over the last forty years or so. It’s a simple but effective documentary, never inserting anything but the interviewees’ own statements and stories into the film, allowing them to shape the audience’s understanding. It doesn’t seek to point fingers or shift blame in any direction; instead, it seeks only to listen and sit with those who lived through the incredibly difficult time that was the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Anyone who watches the film will come away with both a richer understanding of that moment in history and a deeper appreciation for the survivors who are still alive to tell their stories and celebrate with the current LGBT+ community that this is no longer the biggest issue facing them. The lack of thrills can make it feel more like an extended newscast at points, but the lack of outside influence really does allow the audience to sit and listen without any other preconceptions. The barebones style of documentary filmmaking showcased in We Were Here makes it a highly effective form of information distribution, earning it a place among the all-time greats. Some might not go for the stripped-down nature of the documentary, but the stories that are told and the history that the film preserves undeniably make it a worthwhile film. Currently, you can stream this film on Kanopy with your library card if you’d like to watch it for yourself.