Friday Flicks: ‘120 Beats Per Minute’, ‘Wonderstruck’, ‘Dealt’

The weekend film slate once felt immediate, but the titles that linger do so because they hit deeper than a single Friday night. This week the spotlight stays on Robin Campillo’s 2017 drama 120 Beats Per Minute, a film whose urgency has not faded even as its release window recedes into memory. The story still crackles with the same heat it carried out of Cannes, and the questions it raises about activism, desire, and mortality feel no less sharp today.

120 Beats Per Minute (The Orchard)

The film arrived in limited release after its celebrated Cannes debut. In the early 1990s, the AIDS epidemic has been claiming lives for almost a decade. The Paris-based Act Up advocacy movement is fighting against general indifference. Newcomer to the movement Nathan falls in love with Sean, the group’s most radical militant, and their passion erupts against the shadow of mortality as the activists fight for a breakthrough. Directed by Robin Campillo (Eastern Boys) and inspired by his own time during the movement, 120 Beats Per Minute was a smash hit success at this year’s Cannes, having left with the Grand Prix, the Queer Palm, and the FIPRESCI award. Stars Nahuel Perez Biscayart (They Are All Dead), Arnaud Valois (Charlie Says), and Adèle Haenel (Water Lilies). Post-release honors followed quickly: six César Awards, including Best Film, and France’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film holds a 99 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 84 on Metacritic, with critics noting its ability to stay moving without slipping into melodrama.

Cultural Legacy of 120 Beats Per Minute

Almost a decade later the movie still circulates as one of the clearest screen portraits of ACT UP Paris in its prime. Its refusal to soften the era’s grief or its fury keeps it distinct from earlier AIDS dramas that leaned on sentiment. Viewers continue to cite the film’s mix of protest footage and intimate romance as the element that sets it apart in queer cinema history. That balance has helped the picture remain a reference point whenever new generations look back at 1990s health advocacy on screen.

Where to Watch 120 Beats Per Minute in 2026

Streaming options have multiplied since the original run. The film sits on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, and MUBI, with additional platforms rotating availability depending on region. Physical editions remain in circulation for collectors who want the original French audio and subtitles intact. The shift from festival and arthouse screens to on-demand libraries has widened access without dulling the film’s political charge.

Robin Campillo’s Career Since 120 Beats Per Minute

Campillo built the picture from firsthand memory of the ACT UP meetings he attended in the nineties. The success of 120 Beats Per Minute raised his profile after the earlier Eastern Boys, bringing new attention to his method of folding personal history into ensemble drama. Subsequent projects have continued to explore collective action and private desire, keeping the director’s focus on characters who live at the edge of larger social movements.

The Enduring Relevance of AIDS Activism Stories

The film’s core tension, ACT UP Paris battling indifference and fighting for pharmaceutical access, still echoes in current conversations about health equity. Audiences today recognize the same patterns of bureaucratic delay and grassroots pushback that defined the nineties. By keeping the focus on both the meetings and the bedrooms, Campillo shows how political urgency and personal longing ran side by side, a reminder that advocacy histories are never only about policy.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (A24 Films)

Colin Farrell (The Beguiled) stars as Dr. Steven Murphy, a renowned cardiovascular surgeon who presides over a spotless household with his ophthalmologist wife and their two exemplary children. When he isn’t too busy saving people’s lives, he’s mentoring a troubled youth he’s taken under his wing. But as the boy begins insinuating himself into the family’s life, Steven’s world is turned upside down as he is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice. This “Hitchcockian psychodrama” reunites Farrell with The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos, who has crafted a “sensational thriller” that just might solidify his status in the pantheon of world-class auteurs. Nicole Kidman (How to Talk to Girls at Parties), Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk), and Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) round out the cast.

Tragedy Girls (Gunpowder & Sky)

Friends who slay together, stay together. This twist on the slasher genre from Tyler MacIntyre (Patchwork) follows two death-obsessed teenage girls who kidnap an unambitious local serial killer and force him to mentor them into becoming modern-day horror icons. Tapping into their social media following, the murderous duo commits a series of crimes to send their small midwestern town into a frenzy. As their notoriety grows, it seems everything is going according to plan. That is, until the local sheriff begins to close in on them. Tragedy Girls stars Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool), Alexandra Shipp (Straight Outta Compton), Kevin Durand (Fruitvale Station), and Josh Hutcherson (Hulu’s Future Man).

Wonderstruck (Amazon Studios)

Directed by Todd Haynes (Carol) and based on Brian Selznick’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name, Wonderstruck follows two children in an interconnected story spanning fifty years. From entirely different eras, both Ben and Rose wish their lives were wildly different. Stumbling onto a mysterious clue, they each embark on a quest to find out what they’re missing. Half of the film will be presented as a silent feature; Wonderstruck is already being dubbed as Haynes’s “most ambitious film ever”. Stars Julianne Moore (The Big Lebowski), Oakes Fegley (Pete’s Dragon), Michelle Williams (All the Money in the World), and newcomer Millicent Simmonds.

Dealt (Sundance Selects)

The story of sixty-two-year-old Richard Turner, one of the world’s most renowned card magicians of all time. Turner stuns audiences around the world with his legendary sleight of hand. But what they don’t realize – and what makes his show even more amazing – is that he is completely blind. In this magical documentary, filmmaker Luke Korem (Lord Montagu) traces Richard’s journey from his troubled childhood, when he began losing his sight, through to the present day as he relentlessly pursues perfection. Dealt is a captivating closeup look at the enigmatic world of magic and a “candid, awe-inspiring portrait of a man who lives beyond his limitations”.

The Bachelors (Freestyle Digital Media)

We all grieve in our own unique way. After the early death of his wife, a mourning father moves with his teenage son across the country for a private school teaching job. Their lives begin to transform due to two unique women who help them embrace life and love again. If you’re a fan of dramedies in the vein of Terms of Endearment, then this “classic tale of loss, love, healing, and romance” isn’t to be missed. Written and directed by Kurt Voelker (Sweet November), The Bachelors stars JK Simmons (Whiplash), Josh Wiggins (Max), Julie Delpy (Before Sunset), Odeya Rush (We Are What We Are), and Kevin Dunn (Warrior).

Jane (Abramorama)

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Brett Morgen (On the Ropes) delves into the story of Jane Goodall (Jane's Journey), whose chimpanzee research challenged the male-dominated scientific consensus of her time and revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. With exclusive access to over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage tucked away in the National Geographic archives for more than half a century, Morgen creates a stirring and intimate portrait of this extraordinary figure who defied the odds to become one of the world’s most admired conservationists. Features a beautifully orchestrated score from renowned composer Philip Glass (The Hours). Jane Goodall passed away in 2025, and subsequent documentaries continue to trace her influence on both primatology and global conservation efforts.