When he died on Feb. 5, 1992, Danny Sotomayor was only 33 years old, his life stolen by AIDS and his last four years spent in a bold fight against its ravages, the diagnosis of which was then a virtual death sentence.

But he also spent those last years as one of the most powerful and passionate of the early AIDS activists, fighting for research funds, for respect.

His newspaper obituary was only a couple hundred words long so it barely told his story, which makes it important for us to have a fine and forceful “The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor,” part of WTTW’s documentary series “Chicago Stories,” airing at 9 p.m. Friday on WTTW-Ch. 11. (There is also a fine accompanying website, filled with more information and, indeed, enlightenment).

In addition to celebrating one of the great heroes (and, yes, that is the right word) of the AIDS activist movement, it is also a reminder of the fear and uncertainty that shadowed the earliest days of AIDS. It is a valuable history lesson, at once harrowing and heartbreaking.

Sotomayor was born in 1958, the son of a Mexican mother and Puerto Rican father, and grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood where his father’s frequent rages made for a violent household. He came out at 14, graduated from Columbia College with a degree in graphic arts, and was starting to make his mark as a political cartoonist and actor.

But all around him, friends were getting sick and dying and in 1988 he was diagnosed with AIDS. As the film shows, he quickly became one of the founders of the Chicago chapter of ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, which advocated using direct action and civil disobedience to fight AIDS and discrimination, all against the background sound of an “Act up, fight back, fight AIDS!” chant.

In his cartoons, which were soon syndicated in publications across the country, he went after local and national political figures. But the focus of most of his anger was Mayor Richard M. Daley. He would attend the mayor’s press conferences, where he became a familiar foil. When Daley in 1989 announced at a press conference a “new” AIDS public awareness campaign, Sotomayor shouted “garbage.”

Sotomayor was direct. His theatrical and artistic creativity and flair, and inherent good looks and charisma made him a focus for TV news cameras, especially when he had a microphone in his hands. One of the film’s most dramatic segments shows a public protest, during which Sotomayor and a few others unfurled a massive banner that read “WE DEMAND EQUAL HEALTHCARE NOW” from windows in the Chicago Cook County building.

The film is a thoughtful trip back in time that shows how Sotomayor’s life would echo into the future. It makes great use of its interview subjects, such as Sotomayor’s older brother David, longtime activist Rich Garcia and journalist Tracy Baim. Sotomayor is seen and heard in newly unearthed interviews.

There is also Dr. Ross Slotten, who was on the front lines of the AIDS battle, detailed in his 2020 book,  “Plague Years: A Doctor’s Journey Through the AIDS Crisis” (University of Chicago Press), which I called “remarkable.”

Slotten also told me, “Over the years death has increasingly obsessed me, and increasingly as I grow older and continue the purposelessness of life. We come, make our brief mark on the world, and vanish — that’s a cliche but a simple truth.”

Sotomayor made his mark and you will understand why and how from this film. I met Sotomayor a few times, mostly at public events but also over dinner, where I also met the love of his life. That was Scott McPherson, the acclaimed playwright, known best for “Marvin’s Room.”

When Sotomayor died, McPherson said, “I have known a lot of people with this disease. I have never seen anyone fight it so hard. He fought it not only for himself, but also for everybody. He was one of the funniest, most motivated, clear-thinking, compassionate people I have ever known.”

I remind you that 1992 was the year Sotomayor died and the year that Slotten had the chilling distinction of signing more death certificates than any other doctor in the state. It was also the year McPherson died. Such was the horror of the times.

rkogan@chicagotribune.com

Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos hasn’t made the world wait long for the follow-up to his engrossing and thought-provoking “Poor Things,” a nominee earlier this year for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Going into wide release this week, not quite seven months after “Poor Things” introduced the world to Emma Stone’s unforgettable Bella Baxter, the director’s intriguing, entrancing and, at times, confounding “Kinds of Kindness” is said to have been shot quickly during the lengthy post-production phase of its visually elaborate predecessor.

‘Poor Things’ review: Emma Stone unforgettable in Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest

A “triptych fable,” “Kinds of Kindness” boasts many of the same actors — among them, not surprisingly, is Stone, who deservedly won the Oscar for Best Actress for “Poor Things” for her spectacular and fearless performance — playing different characters in its three stories.

To say this trio of tales is “loosely connected” is a bit generous, although Yorgos Stefanakos’ R.M.F. is a titular figure — but also only so relevant narratively — in each.

One would expect there to be a greater thematic thread tying together “The Death of R.M.F.,” “R.M.F. Is Flying” and “R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich,” but, at least on initial viewing, that connective tissue is pretty thin. In each, at least one character is some degree of desperate to please at least one other character who is some degree of controlling — and, more often not, one of the latter figures is portrayed by fellow “Things” alum Willem Dafoe (“The Florida Project”). Given the gifts of Lanthimos, there surely is more metaphorical meat on the bone to be chewed upon during and after a repeat viewing.

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Know, however, that “Kinds of Kindness” is co-written by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou, the latter a collaborator on the former’s more self-indulgent (if still radically interesting) films, including “The Lobster” (2015) and “The Killing of the Sacred Deer,” in which the pair’s absurdist leanings sometimes got the better of them. (Nowhere to be found in the credits here is writer Tony McNamara, who helped shape “Poor Thing” and Lanthimos’ other unquestionably terrific — and Oscar-nominated — film, 2018’s “The Favourite.”)

It comes as no shock, then, that “Kinds of Kindness” sometimes, perhaps even often, feels like it’s being absurd because … well, just because.

That said, it also is a film that, with every scene, has you hanging on with great interest to see what will come next. As a result, it is a two-and-a-half-hour-plus endeavor that goes by remarkably quickly. Whatever its sins, stagnation isn’t one of them.

Stone, appropriately, receives top billing, but Jesse Plemons gets at least a bit more time within the frame.

That’s mainly because while the two are co-leads in the subsequent acts, Stone is a supporting player in “The Death of R.M.F.” Plemons is front and center as Robert, who doesn’t just work for Dafoe’s Raymond but long has been engaged in a bizarre agreement with him. Raymond dictates areas of Robert’s life from his weight — the former is frustrated by the latter appearing to have lost weight, as he finds thin men to be ridiculous — to his intimacy and more with his wife, Sarah (Hong Chau, “The Menu,” “The Whale”). This power dynamic is upset when Raymond finally asks too much of Robert, with Robert subsequently seeing Stone’s Rita as a means to an end.

 

Next comes “R.M.F. Is Flying,” in which police officer Daniel (Plemons) is distraught because his beloved wife, Liz (Stone), has been lost at sea. When she is found alive and returns to him, Daniel believes something is amiss, Liz enjoying things — chocolate and cigarettes among them — she didn’t previously and, more mysteriously, not fitting comfortably into her shoes. While some around him believe Daniel to be having a psychotic event, he sets about proving his theory.

Lastly, we get “R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich,” which sees Stone’s Emily and Plemons’ Andrew as members of a spiritual cult led by Dafoe’s Omi and Chau’s Aka. Omi and Aka, who bless the group’s all-important “uncontaminated” water with their tears, regularly dispatch Emily and Andrew on missions to search for a figure to fulfill a prophecy of a female twin who can raise the dead.

We’ve kept things vague — believe it or not, it’s all even stranger than it sounds — purposefully because, again, revelations along the way comprise much of the enjoyment “Kinds of Kindness” has to offer.

It also offers fine supporting work from Margaret Qualley (“Poor Things,” “Drive-Away Dolls”), Mamoudou Athie (“Elemental,” “The Burial”) and Joe Alwyn (“The Favourite,” “Catherine Called Birdy”) in each of the three parts.

‘Drive-Away Dolls’ review: Coen brother’s ‘Pulp’-y, sex-forward romp mostly fun

Plemons (“Power of the Dog,” “Killers of the Flower Moon”), who seems almost as if he’s in more films than he isn’t these days, is his usual dependable self and oddly likable even when the person he’s playing isn’t.

Meanwhile, Stone — also an Academy Award winner for 2017’s “La La Land” and a nominee for 2015’s “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” and “The Favourite” — is sensational again. There may be no Oscar in her future for her work here, but with the energy and personality she brings to each, her character is the most interesting thing on screen in any scene she’s in, which is saying something given some of the happenings in “Kinds of Kindness.”

Stone won’t be enough to keep some viewers from becoming turned off by “Kinds of Kindness.” It’s weird, to be sure, sometimes sexually gratuitous, often dark, occasionally violent and longer than the average movie. As such, it simply won’t fit the tastes of some folks.

Poor things.

‘Kinds of Kindness’

Where: Theaters.

When: June 28.

Rated: R for strong/disturbing violent content, strong sexual content, full nudity and language.

Runtime: 2 hours, 44 minutes.

Stars (of four): 3.

When it comes to “The Bear,” there will be blood. Heart and warmth, too. But also yelling. Lots and lots of yelling.

The sweaty, frenetic story of a humble Chicago sandwich shop slinging Italian beef before pivoting to fine dining, Season 3 of the FX series (streaming on Hulu) has reached the sink-or-swim portion of the narrative, of a restaurant start-up led by a chef whose ambitions may outweigh his reality.

The show’s slice-of-life anxieties were stress-inducing when it premiered two years ago and that continues apace. What’s changed is “The Bear’s” laser focus of its earlier seasons. I like that showrunners Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo don’t feel compelled to rush things along — this is the plodding work of a restaurant still figuring itself out in the early going — but the episodes sometimes feel like they’re spinning their wheels, or biding time until something meaningful takes shape.

Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is at the center of it all. That’s always been the case. But more so than ever, this has become the Carmy show. After his meltdown on opening night at the end of Season 2, the new season picks up in the aftermath with a 35-minute montage of meditative scenes sliding back and forth in time featuring the moments — and the people — that made the man. It’s a risk to start the season this way. The episode demands a patience it doesn’t always earn. We know who Carmy is by now, a sad-eyed husk of a person chasing professional validation to escape the shadow of a dysfunctional upbringing. An episode-length recap of that doesn’t deepen our understanding of how we got here, or what it means for everyone else who has staked their faith in his talents.

Once the story begins in earnest in Episode 2 and his coworkers file in bright and early, Carmy’s nickname — Bear — becomes all too literal as he tears in and projects all his shame and inadequacy onto them.

His desire for excellence means he’s recreating an environment of clenched fear and consternation that he hated so much in the worst of his previous jobs. Whatever small measure of perspective he gained returning home to the family restaurant and starting over is gone. He has emotionally regressed and his tantrums are taking a toll. It’s remarkable no one has knocked his block off yet.

Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in Season 3 of “The Bear.” (FX)

Carmy is determined to earn a Michelin star for the place, even if he alienates everyone around him in the process. Cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who upped his game running front of the house, has more practical concerns. He just wants to do a good job and cares about the customer experience. He isn’t hung up on the “gastronomical proclivities of some dusty French tire marketing executive.” And anyway, “I’m a Pirelli guy.”

Despite a more collaborative relationship that once existed between Carmy and chef de cuisine Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Carmy now has a tunnel vision that pushes her own creativity to the sidelines. There’s an offer on the table to make her a partner. But gone are the days of mentoring or quiet moments out back taking a breather. Some audiences have been hopeful their relationship would progress to something more. Restaurants are notorious for their sometimes ill-advised hookups among the staff. But Carmy can be disrespectful and dismissive toward Sydney — he’s not singling her out; that’s how he treats everyone — and the show is making it clear that if you care about Sydney, you wouldn’t want this for her in a romantic context. Anyway, there’s something compelling about friends and colleagues connecting with an intimacy and intensity that jumps off the screen but remains platonic.

That said, Sydney’s story feels underserved this season, even if Edebiri conveys so much through her character’s thoughtful, sometimes uncomfortable silences. She’s conflict-averse but she’ll have to have a meaningful talk with Carmy eventually. In the meantime, he is the taskmaster and she, along with everyone else, exists to execute his vision. Pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce) has also been pushed to the margins in favor of more Carmy. Other members of the kitchen are given brief attention: Sweeps (Corey Hendrix) is put on a sommelier path and Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) is tasked with servicing the Italian beef take-out window. But it’s a missed opportunity that the show doesn’t carve out more time to deepen their personalities and their point of view when it comes to all the changes in their workplace.

At best, Carmy communicates through a hangdog resignation or gritted teeth. At worst, he blows his top. The stakes are high: If the restaurant isn’t a moneymaker fast, Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) — who poured nearly a million dollars into the place — will pull the plug. Their fate hangs in the balance pending a review in the Chicago Tribune.

None of this plays out as comedy, even if that’s how the network has categorized the show for awards purposes. There is less humor this season than ever. Most of the comic relief is courtesy of Frick-and-Frack handyman brothers Neil and Ted Fak (played by Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri) and a little of their schtick goes a long way. The show struggles with that balance.

If Season 3 doesn’t reach the heights of earlier seasons, the best of it still works remarkably well, especially when it slows down and takes a breath. There’s an episode devoted to Richie’s awkward but somehow graceful acceptance of his post-divorce personal life. It’s unclear if he’s getting professional help but I’d wager yes, judging by the therapyspeak that sometimes peppers his speech: “Chef Carmen uses power phrases because he’s a baby replicant who’s not self-actualized.” Another terrific episode (which Edebiri directs) is the story of how Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) came to work at the Original Beef of Chicagoland and it’s a wonderful contrast to the present. When she first walks in, there is life in the place; it is conspicuous what has been lost in the years since. There’s nothing wrong with Carmy pushing the business in a different direction, but this flashback underscores the grief everyone now carries with them, and how deeply Carmy has done a number on them in the months since. These episodes allow you to live with the characters in their quieter moments, away from the mishegoss Carmy is perpetrating in the kitchen.

There is a brief mention of grumbling among old-timers that the neighborhood staple has forsaken its roots. I wish the show had more interest in exploring that. And there remains an unanswered question I first brought up last season: As a pair, Carmy and Sydney found real fulfillment and dignity in making affordable food better at the grimy little sandwich spot. So what’s behind this drive to achieve something notable in the fine dining space? I think for Sydney, it’s a way back in after she was burned by her earlier ambitions.

For Carmy, the answers are less clear. He left home only to lose himself in the punishing world of elite kitchens. He found a small piece of himself again amid the beef juice splattered confines of the family business. Now he’s discarded that once again in favor of a dream that may not even be satisfying if he attains it. He said as much in Season 1 when describing how it felt to win his first Michelin stars. Maybe some of this is rooted in getting the right kind of accolades needed to make the restaurant viable. But not all.

It’s a battle for Carmy’s soul as he tries to outrun his feelings. What does he want really? Where does Sydney — or anyone else — fit in with that? As the season finale promises, “to be continued.”

“The Bear” Season 3 — 3 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: Hulu

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

Find your local Fourth of July celebrations from festivals to parades to fireworks here:

Afton

The Fourth of July parade will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday along Main Street. After the parade in Town Square Park, there will be music, food and a bounce house.

Apple Valley

Freedom Days starts Friday, June 28, with the Dancin’ and Cruisin’ Classic Car Show at the Apple Valley American Legion 1776. A carnival will be held Monday through Thursday at various times at Johnny Cake Ridge Park East. From 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday is the Cub Foods Family Night art Johnny Cake Ridge Park East featuring a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, food trucks, a vendor fair, kids dance, carnival games and more. Some events involve a fee. On Thursday events kick off with the Fun Run at 8 a.m. outside the Apple Valley Community Center. A parade starts at 1 p.m. on the corner of Fireside Drive and Pennock Avenue going north and ending on Haynes Road next to Apple Valley High School. A pre-fireworks party with music from Woody will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at Johnny Cake East Ridge Park. The fireworks show will begin around 10 p.m. in Johnny Cake Ridge Park East. For a full schedule go to avfreedomdays.com.

Cottage Grove

Grilled food and drinks will be available starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 4, at Kingston Park. Food trucks will also be available. Children will receive raffle tickets for bikes and other prizes. Fireworks begin at dusk.

Eagan

July 4th Funfest begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Viking Lakes followed by a bike parade at 4 p.m. Wednesday outside the Community Center. Arena will perform at 5 p.m. and Junk FM will follow at 8 p.m. in the Community Center. A carnival will be from 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday and from noon to 11 p.m. Thursday. The parade will start at 10 a.m. Thursday on Yankee Doodle Road and end at Yankee Doodle Road and Federal Drive. The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Car Show will start at noon, bingo and an ice cream eating contest will start at 1 p.m., all by the Community Center. The ACME Magic Factory show will start at 2 p.m. followed by Teddy Bear Band at 3:30 p.m. Fireworks will be launched from the Community Center grounds at 10 p.m. For more information, go to eaganfunfest.org/.

Forest Lake

Cheers to 100 Years starts Wednesday with a carnival from 5 p.m. to midnight. The event will have a carnival, bingo, a DJ and karaoke at various times throughout the week. Live performances will start at 8 p.m. to midnight on the outdoor stage. Bands include 6 to Midnight, Legacy Of The Loud and Theory. There will be a parade from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday starting at Forest Lake Elementary School and ending at the American Legion. More details can be found at ci.forest-lake.mn.us/190/4th-of-July. Fireworks will be launched from Lakeside Memorial Park at 10 p.m. Thursday.

Hudson, Wis.

Booster Days starts Thursday, July 4, with a carnival in the evening at Lakefront Park. On Friday, there will be a beer garden, bingo, bands and activities. There will be a parade at 11 a.m. Saturday at 2nd Street to downtown Hudson. There will also be a beer garden, bingo, bands and activities. Sunday there will be a beer garden, bingo bands and activities. Fireworks will be launched at dusk. For more information, go to hudsonboosters.org and click on “Booster Days.”

Lakeville

Fireworks will begin at dusk Thursday launching from Century Middle School. Starting at 6 p.m., there will be face painting, bounce houses and live music from The Riverside Hitmen.

Maplewood

Food trucks, games and inflatables will be available at 4 p.m. Thursday in Hazelwood Park followed by fireworks at 10 p.m.

Marine on St. Croix

The 4th of July Run starts at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, both the two-mile and four-mile races leave from Hay Lake School. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday at the corner of Judd Street and Berkey Street. There will be no fireworks. For more information, go to marineonstcroix.org/fourthofjuly.

Mendota Heights

Fireworks will be set off at 10 p.m. Thursday from Mendakota Park.

Roseville

Party in the Park will begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 29, with activities in Central Park. Music will start at 3:15 p.m. at the Frank Rog Amphitheatre in Central Park and fireworks will be launched at 10 p.m. from Central Park. For more information, go to cityofroseville.com/2570/Saturday-June-29.

Stillwater

This year’s fireworks display is postponed because of flooding. The city plans to host a fireworks show sometime later this summer after the floodwaters recede.

St. Croix Falls, Wis.

Food trucks, face painting, swimming and bounce houses will be available at 2 p.m. Thursday at Big Rock Creek. Live music will start at 3 p.m. with Kyle Koliha; Muddcat Melby will follow at 7 p.m. Fireworks will begin at 10 p.m.

St. Paul

The St. Paul Saints will host a fireworks show at CHS Field after a 6 p.m. game Friday, July 5. There will be food trucks around the field and fans will be able to watch the fireworks from the outfield.

In St. Anthony Park, Fourth of July celebrations kick off at 8 a.m. Thursday in Langford Park with a two- or four-mile race. The parade begins at 11 a.m. at Luther Place south on Como Avenue toward Langford Park. Food trucks open at noon along with horseshoes, volleyball and pickleball tournaments. Four bands — Pig’s Eye Jass, Ticket to Brasil Quartet, The Foxgloves and Light of the Moon Trio — will be performing on the bandstand from 1 to 6 p.m. Pony rides start at 1 p.m. behind the recreation center. More information at 4thinthepark.org/.

Como Town and the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, July 4. Como Town will be displaying the Dinosaur Expedition, an educational and interactive series where kids of all ages can learn about the prehistoric era. The event includes rides, a sand pit and “true-to-life” dinosaur displays.

White Bear Lake

The Manitou Days boat parade starts at noon Thursday, July 4, along Mahtomedi Beach. The Shoreview Northern Lights Variety Band concert will be from 8 to 10 p.m. at the West Park Pavilion, a flyover at 8:30 p.m. on the north side of the lake and fireworks at 10 p.m. Recommended viewing spots include County Beach and West Park. For more information, go to manitoudays.com/.

Woodbury

Country band Thrillbillies will be performing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 4, at the M Health Fairview Sports Center. Bounce houses and food trucks will begin at 6 p.m. Food will be available for sale from 6 to 10 p.m. Due to construction on the outdoor fields, activities and music will move northwest of the previous location. Fireworks will be set off at 10 p.m. For more information, go to woodburymn.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=286.

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