It deserves a belated Oscar

I was thoroughly enthralled while watching "3 Needles" more so than any other movie in recent history, for a number of reasons, but just to say that it has excellent acting and gorgeous cinematography is enough reason to recommend it. This is really what filmmaking is meant to be, and it has more top-notch performances than any of the bloated Oscar nominees. What the other "Crash" clone films lack is any sense of heart which this movie has in spades--its a mystery why it was never nominated for any major awards, especially Cinematography.

Furthermore, it treats AIDS with an intelligence that is sadly lacking in any of the other major releases that have been made on the topic--as a disease with a human face, one that anyone can get, not a "gay" thing in most of the world, unlike it is in the USA. In this movie, AIDS goes unnamed, because it could be a number of things, and it can be none of them. The disease can even be Swine Flu, although of course the one thing that seems constant in all three is the idea that needles can and do spread the virus, even though homosexuality is more often blamed.

If anyone can tell me what the name of the location where they shot the nuns scenes, I would very much like to know. That location is unbelievable--such a heaven on earth that it seems ironic to think the country is under the scourge of AIDS. What this film gives us is a new way to appreciate the rest of the world outside of Hollywood. Many thanks to Thom Fitzgerald for a job well done.