This Brazilian film about the start of the AIDS epidemic is driven from some riveting performances from the cast.

Suzano is a microbiologist who lives in France but is visiting his sister and nephew in Brazil in late 1982 just in time for the new year. An openly gay man, he meets up with some friends to celebrate, including cameraman Humberto and trans singer Rose. Suzano has begun to feel ill, but is not sure exactly what is wrong. As the new year has finally arrives, Humberto meets another man and finds himself in his first relationship with another man. As for Rose, when she is not performing, she works the local streets.

Things start to change for these three. With the rise of AIDS all over the world, Suzano discovers he has been afflicted with the newfound disease. Soon enough, Rose and Humberto also find themselves fallen victim to the disease. In their small town, they are constantly mocked for their preferences and now with the disease afflicting them, the trio find themselves bonding and learning about the disease in a small place with Humberto documenting their eventual fate.

A shockingly realistic style film focusing on the AIDS epidemic when it began in Brazil, writer/director Rodrigo de Oliveira made a film to not only bring a sense of history but pay homage to those who have fell to the disease. What’s very interesting with the title is that he sees the lead characters of Suzano, Rose, and Humberto as soldiers in the trenches, like their real lives as the refuge they end up bonding in is like a military trench as they slowly are succumbing to a new disease for its time with the LGBTQ community the primary victims.

The cast of the film are top notch here. Johnny Massaro did his research and lost weight to play the role of Suzano, one of the “first fallen” as he slowly finds himself being more and more estranged by his mother and nephew, the latter who sees him as someone to look up to. Renata Carvalho is also great as Rose, a trans woman who performs a controversial song at the local small-town nightclub as 1983 approaches and seems to show jealousy of people in relationships. As for Victor Camilo’s Humberto, he is the shy one of the group as we see him finding love on New Year’s while videotaping the party at the nightclub.

The film starts out a bit slow, but it gets better as the tension mounts and thankfully, the cast do a great job in driving the film.

The First Fallen is an important film not just for the LGBTQ community or Brazilian history, but because it pays homage to those who have dealt with something deadly on top of their discriminations as if they are soldiers in the trenches, fighting to get out. A definite must see for film fans everywhere.

WFG RATING: A

Dark Star Pictures presents a Pique-Bandeira Films production. Director: Rodrigo de Oliveira. Producers: Rodrigo de Oliveira and Vitor Graize. Writer: Rodrigo de Oliveira. Cinematography: Lucas Barbi. Editing: Rodrigo de Oliveira.

Cast: Johnny Massaro, Renata Carvalho, Victor Camilo, Clara Choveaux, Alex Bonin, Higor Campagnaro, Daniel Monjardim, Verônica Gomes, Vinicius Duarte, Jackson Leão.