Product Description

In China, Ping (Lucy Liu) is a pregnant young woman running a black market blood collection scam that creates a mini-epidemic in a rural village. In Montreal, Denys (Shawn Ashmore) is a porn actor hiding his positive HIV status in order to continue working and supporting his mother (Stockard Channing), who herself goes to extreme lengths to provide for the family's future. And, in Africa, Sister Clara (Chlo Sevigny) is a young novice nun driven to convert the rapidly dying Africans to Catholicism before it's too late who makes a desperate bargain with a corrupt plantation owner to help prevent the spread of HIV in the region.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41489 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-04-03
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Afrikaans, English, French, Xhosa
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 127 minutes

Amazon.com
Good performances by an impressive cast, some beautiful cinematography, and a relatively light touch on a heavy subject (AIDS, which is never once mentioned by name) help make 3 Needles an absorbing, provocative viewing experience. Writer-director-producer Thom Fitzgerald's 2005 film assays a global view of the pandemic, similar to Traffic's approach to the drug trade and Babel's slant on the interconnectedness of human events 'round the world (although 3 Needles is considerably less affecting than those two efforts). Using five different languages (Afrikaans, Mandarin, Xhosa, French, and English), he take us to three continents. In China, a pregnant woman (Lucy Liu) pays peasants who donate their blood (which she then sells illegally), in the process starting an mini-scourge that virtually wipes out an entire village. In Montreal, a porn actor (Shawn Ashmore) cheats on a blood test; when his mother (an excellent Stockard Channing) discovers he's HIV positive, she's driven by outrageous fortune to react in some very strange and unpredictable ways. Finally, three nuns (an unlikely combo of Olympia Dukakis, Sandra Oh, and Chloe Sevigny) set out to save souls "condemned to purgatory" by their disease; but when Sister Clara (Sevigny), who's still a novice, tries to save actual lives as well, she makes a startling bargain with the devil to do it. While much of this is quite poignant, it's to the film's credit that little or none of it is handled with excessive sententiousness, self-pity, or tragedy for its own sake. Actually, there's a good deal of gentle humor, not to mention some absolutely gorgeous shots (including Montreal in autumn and the overall geography of the unnamed coastal African country where the final scenario takes place). And the ultimate message, delivered by Dukakis in voice-over, is hauntingly simple: "Why have we not joined together at last to fight this virus?" Bonus material includes interviews, deleted scenes, and a couple of AIDS documentaries. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

I liked this movie.
This was a very interesting take on people in different lives, HIV, and AIDS. It's very interesting. I would recommend watching it.

Moving film.
I just stumbled upon this film last night on Showtime, I hadn't heard of it, but was totally impressed. The cinematography is beautiful, the acting is great, the writing is thoughtful. I was surprised to find so many negative ratings for this film. Maybe it's because "3 Needles" breaks the mold of so many Hollywood films, but that's part of its appeal for me. What is "boring" for one, is contemplative and authentic for another.
The multicultural orientation of this film is another plus in my book, it utilizes five languages (maybe some people don't like reading subtitles).
"3 Needles" also sheds light on issues of sexism, AIDS, exploitation, etc., while also shedding light on how resilient and kind people can be.

There's a scene with a pornstar helping his sick father bathe. Routine moments of elder care like that, which are usually hidden away in our "old folks" homes, will disturb some viewers who fear their own ageing process. I found it to be a touching moment, and like so many scenes of this film, it was captured with great skill.

This film, and many others, are being shown as part of World AIDS Day. "Link TV" and "Sundance" have also been airing programs related to this disease. AIDS is something of a mystery The River : A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS, but there's no doubt that it is having a devastating effect, particularly in Africa. In this era when reactionary forces are fomenting bigotry and empathy impairment, the nuance and internationalism of "3 Needles" is a much appreciated antidote.

I'd also recommend:
The Advocate
Angels in America
On Our Own Terms Moyers on Dying 4 Volume Set
5 Heroes of AIDS in Africa
Lifecycles: a story of AIDS in Malawi
And the Band Played On
Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope

star-studded isn't a guarantee
I've learned that a star-studded cast doesn't mean that the movie will be great. *3 Needles* was a nice attempt on the issue of AIDS. However, this movie failed to connect with the viewers...well, at least, with me. I think it had to do with the 3 stories being too short for character development and allowing us to connect with these people.



The first story deals with a pregnant Chinese (Liu) who shells out $5 dollars per donation. However, she turns around and sells blood illegally. She's doing this all at the command of her husband, who is dying of AIDS.



The second story focuses on a gay Canadian porn actor. He cheats the mandatory blood tests by using his dying father's blood. When the father dies, the mother discovers her son's sero-status. Upon discovery, she does something unpredictable that will grab your attention until the end. This is perhaps the best story of the three.



The last story is about 3 nuns who come to South Africa to care for the afflicted as well to save their souls. Somehow, the afflicted locals are led to believe that to rid of their disease, they must have sex with a virgin. In here, the virgins are the children. Enraged, the nuns have asked a local and powerful white man to put a stop to this horrible practice. He does but it comes with a price.



The problem with these stories is that their climax/peak is weak. Each of their conclusion are even weaker. It feels like it stopped abruptly. Totally forgettable.