Living with AIDS (1988)

A bonus feature to the An Early Frost DVD, this short documentary chronicles the last months of Todd Coleman, a 21 year old man living with AIDS and those who cared for him in various capacities toward the end of his life. It’s sobering to be reminded how, especially early in the epidemic, the simple gift of loving touch was denied to people who were dying and how necessary such services were. The one quote that stayed with me came from his older lover describing how Todd didn’t quite understand the type of love that would have someone stick around when sex more or less went away because he was too young to have experienced love beyond sex. So many, many young men never did get that experience.