3 Needles
Encyclopedia
3 Needles is a 2005 Canadian drama film
directed by Thom Fitzgerald
. The title, refers to the three main characters who make a deal with the Devil
in order to survive a global epidemic
. The plot deals with interwoven stories of persons around the world who are dealing with HIV
and AIDS
, and stars Shawn Ashmore
, Olympia Dukakis
, Lucy Liu
, Stockard Channing
, Chloë Sevigny
, and Sandra Oh
.
The film was screened at various film festival
s, and was given a limited release
in the United States on December 1, 2006.
, undergo a rite of passage
symbolizing their change from boyhood into manhood. In rural China
, a heavily pregnant Jin Ping is caught by Chinese military men with crates of black market blood in her van. The blood is destroyed and she is subsequently gang raped. Jin Ping is then shown visiting a village and convincing the inhabitants to give blood for $5 each. They all agree, except Tong Sam, a rice farmer, as he is unable to give blood as he is sick. However, as Jin Ping's equipment is not safe, most of the people in the village contract HIV
and die of AIDS
, including Tong Sam's family. The military men led by Xuan arrive in the village to help with the disease, and they help Tong Sam grow rice, which he then gives out to his remaining neighbors. Government officials arrive in the town to test people for AIDS, but the testing is $10 per person, which one neighbor thinks is a scam because it "cost $5 when she gave me the virus."
In Canada
, porn star Denys thinks he may be HIV positive. He cheats his monthly blood tests by taking blood samples from his ailing father instead of providing his own blood. Eventually his father dies, and his mother Olive finds out her son's job, much to her dismay. Denys subsequently quits his job. Olive finds out that her son is HIV positive when she goes to meet him at a self-help group
. She then decides to infect herself with the HIV virus by drinking Denys's blood, and then gets a substantial pay-off from her health insurance
company. She uses the money to provide a better life for her and Denys. One night they go out for dinner, and they are waited on by Maria, a former colleague of Denys. She informs him that she, and several other porn actors, are now infected with HIV because of Denys. She says "you killed me for $800".
In Africa, where three nuns Clara, Mary, and Hilde arrive at a plantation where they are to give aid. Clara who is very head-strong goes to great lengths to look after the family of a young rape victim, whose grandmother has died, and who is cared for by her older brother. She asks for help from the plantation owner Hallyday, who makes sexual advances on her. Eventually she gives in and allows Hallyday to have sex with her, if he agrees to help the family she looks after. She eventually discovers that the older brother in the family is sterilizing and then re-using the plantation's needles, effectively spreading infections amongst the people who live and work there. Following this, three men break into the nuns' bedroom and rape them. The nuns leave the plantation soon after, but as the car pulls away, Clara gets out and walks back to the plantation, removing her habit
as she goes.
The epilogue is narrated by Hilde, who is revealed to be a Saint
and has heard the prayers of everyone from the three stories detailed above. She wonders why the human race will not unite in the face of their common enemy, AIDS, and decides that God, or at least the way people believe in him, is to blame for this failure.
, before showing at countless festivals in London
, Stockholm
, Karlovy Vary
, Seattle, and Pusan. It made its commercial release in the United States
at the New York City
Museum of Modern Art
on December 1, 2006 (World AIDS Day
). Leading up to its U.S. premier, it was heavily promoted by the United Nations Global Media AIDS Initiative.
and direction at the Atlantic Film Festival. Fitzgerald was nominated for a Canadian Director's Guild Award for Best Direction of a Feature Film; additionally, Variety
praised its "exceptional performances".
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Thom Fitzgerald
Thom Fitzgerald
Thomas "Thom" Fitzgerald is an award winning American-Canadian film director as well live theater director.-Life:Fitzgerald was born and raised in New Rochelle, New York. His parents divorced when he was five years old. He moved with his mother and brother, Timothy Jr., to Bergenfield, New Jersey,...
. The title, refers to the three main characters who make a deal with the Devil
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
in order to survive a global epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
. The plot deals with interwoven stories of persons around the world who are dealing with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, and stars Shawn Ashmore
Shawn Ashmore
Shawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jake in the Animorphs television series and Iceman in the X-Men films. He is the twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...
, Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis is an American actress. In 1987, she won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her performance in Moonstruck...
, Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
, Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
, Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...
, and Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
.
The film was screened at various film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s, and was given a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States on December 1, 2006.
Plot
A group of young men in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, undergo a rite of passage
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
symbolizing their change from boyhood into manhood. In rural China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, a heavily pregnant Jin Ping is caught by Chinese military men with crates of black market blood in her van. The blood is destroyed and she is subsequently gang raped. Jin Ping is then shown visiting a village and convincing the inhabitants to give blood for $5 each. They all agree, except Tong Sam, a rice farmer, as he is unable to give blood as he is sick. However, as Jin Ping's equipment is not safe, most of the people in the village contract HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and die of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, including Tong Sam's family. The military men led by Xuan arrive in the village to help with the disease, and they help Tong Sam grow rice, which he then gives out to his remaining neighbors. Government officials arrive in the town to test people for AIDS, but the testing is $10 per person, which one neighbor thinks is a scam because it "cost $5 when she gave me the virus."
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, porn star Denys thinks he may be HIV positive. He cheats his monthly blood tests by taking blood samples from his ailing father instead of providing his own blood. Eventually his father dies, and his mother Olive finds out her son's job, much to her dismay. Denys subsequently quits his job. Olive finds out that her son is HIV positive when she goes to meet him at a self-help group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
. She then decides to infect herself with the HIV virus by drinking Denys's blood, and then gets a substantial pay-off from her health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
company. She uses the money to provide a better life for her and Denys. One night they go out for dinner, and they are waited on by Maria, a former colleague of Denys. She informs him that she, and several other porn actors, are now infected with HIV because of Denys. She says "you killed me for $800".
In Africa, where three nuns Clara, Mary, and Hilde arrive at a plantation where they are to give aid. Clara who is very head-strong goes to great lengths to look after the family of a young rape victim, whose grandmother has died, and who is cared for by her older brother. She asks for help from the plantation owner Hallyday, who makes sexual advances on her. Eventually she gives in and allows Hallyday to have sex with her, if he agrees to help the family she looks after. She eventually discovers that the older brother in the family is sterilizing and then re-using the plantation's needles, effectively spreading infections amongst the people who live and work there. Following this, three men break into the nuns' bedroom and rape them. The nuns leave the plantation soon after, but as the car pulls away, Clara gets out and walks back to the plantation, removing her habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
as she goes.
The epilogue is narrated by Hilde, who is revealed to be a Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
and has heard the prayers of everyone from the three stories detailed above. She wonders why the human race will not unite in the face of their common enemy, AIDS, and decides that God, or at least the way people believe in him, is to blame for this failure.
Cast
- Tanabadee Chokpikultong as Tong Sam
- Steven Crowder as Store Manager
- Olympia DukakisOlympia DukakisOlympia Dukakis is an American actress. In 1987, she won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her performance in Moonstruck...
as Hilde - Tyson Hall as Zulu
- Chin HanChin HanNg Chin Han , usually credited as just Chin Han, is a Singaporean actor of stage, film and television whose career has spanned over twenty years. He starred in Masters of the Sea, Singapore television's first foray into English-language drama. In recent years he broke into the Hollywood film...
as Soldier Xuan - Lucy LiuLucy LiuLucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
as Jin Ping - Siv Mbelu as Bongile
- Shawn AshmoreShawn AshmoreShawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jake in the Animorphs television series and Iceman in the X-Men films. He is the twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...
as Denys - Stockard ChanningStockard ChanningStockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
as Olive - Yoyo Chorkreaw as Qi
- Sook-Yin LeeSook-Yin LeeSook-Yin Lee is a Canadian musician, filmmaker, actress and media personality.-Background:Lee grew up in a Vancouver suburb, the second-oldest daughter of immigrants. She was raised as a devout Roman Catholic. Her father was a post-World War II orphan from Hong Kong, her mother an escapee from...
as Xiu - Sandra OhSandra OhSandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
as Mary - Chloë SevignyChloë SevignyChloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...
as Clara - Ian RobertsIan Roberts (South African actor)Ian Roberts is a South African actor, playwright and singer. A native English speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans and Xhosa.-Early life:...
as Hallyday
Release
3 Needles debuted at the Toronto International Film FestivalToronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, before showing at countless festivals in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
, Seattle, and Pusan. It made its commercial release in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
on December 1, 2006 (World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
). Leading up to its U.S. premier, it was heavily promoted by the United Nations Global Media AIDS Initiative.
Critical reception
The film won prizes for cinematographyCinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
and direction at the Atlantic Film Festival. Fitzgerald was nominated for a Canadian Director's Guild Award for Best Direction of a Feature Film; additionally, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
praised its "exceptional performances".
See also
- AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
- HIVHIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
- HIV in Yunnan
- HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China
- Gao YaojieGao YaojieGao Yaojie is a Chinese gynecologist, academic, and AIDS activist in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. Gao has been honored for her work by the United Nations and Western organizations, and has spent time under house arrest.-Biography:...
External links
- Official Website
- Distributor's site
- Art Film Talk #19, Thom Fitzgerald – interview with director Thom Fitzgerald about the film
- Detailed interview of Lucy Liu about the film at comingsoon.net (contains plot detail)