Milk

[Reverend Jax]

 

Milk is a new bio-pic about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States (a city supervisor in San Francisco for the district that included the infamous Castro and Haight-Ashbury neighborhoods). It was directed by Gus Van Sant, so I was a tad reluctant to see it, because while he is artistically a very talented and capable filmmaker, he often makes films that are artistically good but not really enjoyable. In fact, I haven't enjoy any movie he's made since Good Will Hunting, which was good AND enjoyable. Fortunately, this film is also good and enjoyable (though not as enjoyable as GWH).

 

I went to see this the day after I saw Persepolis, so unfortunately for the film, I was comparing the two while watching it. Both films deal with historically political events, but the difference is that Persepolis told a human story in the context of political history, and Milk told a political history in the context of a human story. In the case of Milk, I think it would have done a disservice to the history to focus less on the politics and more on the people, so I think the movie strikes the right balance, but I wish I hadn't been thinking about the contrast while watching the movie.

 

The movie is great, well-paced with solid performances all around. If movies about civil rights movements interest you, this is a solid entry into that category. The Oscar buss is warranted.

[TulipO]

This movie rocked. The performances were great and the message neccessary for everyone. Grass roots movements DO effect change!