Film Friday: ‘Desert Migration’ sheds light on living with HIV
Being diagnosed with HIV isn’t the death sentence it used to be. With modern medications, persons infected with the virus are living longer than ever expected. For the older generation, who watched their friends die around them as they waited to become another statistic, it’s something they never thought they would see. In Daniel F. Cardone’s documentary Desert Migration, we get a glimpse of 13 men’s stories, triumphs, trials and lives living in Palm Springs, a desert city 100 miles west of Los Angeles and an oasis for older men living with HIV.
Desert Migration fills in a missing gap. The film does a phenomenal job of educating both young and old generations on the affects HIV has on the body, soul, and bank account during a time when HIV is easily controlled. After all, how bad is it really to take one or two pills a day?
What they need to realize is that research has shown that older HIV-infected individuals face a higher risk for developing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and neurological problems like dementia. Meanwhile, more than half of the 1.1 million HIV patients in the US have neurocognitive disorders that may affect concentration, memory, decision making, coordination, and motor skills, as well as language and sensory perception. So those one or two pills a day quickly turns into handfuls.
Cardone does a phenomenal job of showing this issue, alongside many others, with shots of these men’s lives. Viewers see Steve Barkel talk about getting surgery done to counteract the aggressive aging process, Will Grant talk about the Kaposi’s Sarcoma lesions on his back that deter him from being intimate with anyone, and Bill Fauber post reminders around his house to make sure he remembers basic daily functions.
I might remember something now, and in five seconds I will forget,” Fauber, 66, says in the film.
The film not only touches on health deterioration, but also social prejudices and financial troubles. Erik Janke talks about dating, and how one young man grew angry after learning he was on a date with a poz man. Steve Henderson discusses living paycheck to paycheck, sometimes foregoing meals, and the possibility of living out of his car. Barkel speaks about losing his disability based on how well he looks on Facebook, as opposed to his minimal T-cell count.
The film is equal parts educational, inspirational, and heartbreaking. The cinematography adds to the mood of the documentary, with the 13 men telling their stories in voiceovers as we see them go about their daily lives of working out, taking medications, and interacting with people. Although it seems slow at times, the desire to turn my attention to something else never arose.
Cardone delivered a film with an important message. Watch this film as soon as possible.
