FIRST BIG HOLLYWOOD AIDS FILM LAUDED IN BERLIN By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuter) - A ground-breaking American film about a gay lawyer who sues his former employers for firing him because he has AIDS won enthusiastic plaudits at its international premiere Tuesday at the Berlin film festival. ``Philadelphia," a fictional tale directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, has been billed by its producers as the first major Hollywood film on the once-taboo subject of AIDS. The movie, which had hundreds of normally indifferent film critics weeping audibly at its conclusion, went quickly onto the list of favorites to win the festival's ``Golden Bear" awards. It was nominated in Hollywood last week for five Academy Awards. Although a number of critics complained about the film's ``Hollywood" qualities and its cautious portrayal of homosexuals, most said it succeeded in bringing AIDS into the mainstream theater without preaching and with the right amount of emotion. ``It's an important film and they have gotten the proper amount of emotion and realism into it," said Walo Deuber, film critic for Swiss television. ``It is very well done." ``Philadelphia," produced by Tri-Star at a cost of $25 million, represents Hollywood's first real attempt to address the AIDS crisis. Hanks said it has stirred controversy since it hit screens across the United States last month. ``About one-third of the people who have seen it were delighted, another third thought it was a pretty good job but not radical enough and the final third absolutely loath it," Hanks said a crowded news conference after the screening. ``There have been some incredibly vocal critics, complaining about how timid it is," said Hanks, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. ``But I can't imagine our movie would be the one that pleased everyone. ``It shows you that more movies have to be done on the subject," he added. ``Philadelphia" is a thoughtful exploration of the prejudices surrounding the AIDS epidemic wrapped around one man's battle against the injustice of a wrongful dismissal because of his disease. Hanks goes through a remarkable metamorphosis during the film, from a robust legal eagle to a gaunt, gray-haired AIDS sufferer with lesions on his face and body who collapses during one climactic moment. He lost 35 pounds for the part. ``It's taken Hollywood a long time to come up with this movie," Hanks said. ``Here we are a full decade into the AIDS crisis." But he added that it would have benefitted no one to make a movie about AIDS that failed at the box office.