The first time I watched this film, I must have been about nine or ten and even at that age, I sobbed my heart out. To this day, it remains the saddest film I've ever seen.<br /><br />The film revolves around eight-year-old Ben Madison, a haemophiliac who contracted AIDS from an infected blood transfusion. As Ben bravely copes with all that his devastating illness forces upon him, his parents are fighting two battles. They have to struggle to accept the fact their young son was terminally ill yet remain strong enough to prepare him for his own death but they are also fighting the ignorance of how AIDS was perceived in the Eighties.<br /><br />'Go Toward the Light' has many emotive scenes: notably, Ben's funeral where his mother recounts how her son's life may have been short but he had made his mark on the world, when Ben's father explains to his three young sons about what happens to the soul after death, and the final scene where Ben dies in his parents' arms. What makes this film unique is that it's not all depressing and, by depicting happier scenes, we feel closer to Ben and his family. We shared their joy when Ben is able to come home for his new brother's birth and when the Madisons' newborn son was haemophiliac-free. We get a sense of how close the family is by the large role the grandparents play in Ben's life (his grandfather poignantly made Ben's coffin) and the love Ben feels for his family, especially his brothers (one bittersweet moment is when his younger brother says he was visited by a ghostly Ben in the hours before Ben's death).<br /><br />For a TV film, not only was the script excellent but so were the actors. Young Joshua Harris must have been a talented child actor in his time given his affecting performance as Ben while Linda Hamilton and Richard Thomas were perfect as the parents, depicting their grief, strength and love for their son and his plight.<br /><br />I highly recommend this to not only people seeking a good gut-wrenching drama (as there is nothing more gut-wrenching than watching this film and knowing this was a true story that happened to a real little boy and his family) but also for older children and teenagers seeking a more meaningful view of AIDS and its consequences.