Milk

Harvey Milk is a gay man in the 70's in San Francisco running for a seat on the Board of Supervisors. This is essentially the same time that across the country (Florida, Kansas, Oregon) cities are repealing equal protection laws for gay and lesbian people. The acting is superb and the story is engaging. We know from the outset that Milk (along with Mayor Moscone) is shot, so it is a bit surprising that this doesn't just feel like a train wreck waiting to happen. There is a surprising amount of hope in the film (and I would guess in the actual events). It was about 2/3 of the way through before I realized, "Wait a minute, this guy dies...". Great filmmaking by Gus van Sant.

Perhaps the most tragic part of the entire tale is that 30 years later, we are basically in the same place. Annika did some research after Prop 8 passed (repealing gay marriage in California), wondering if it would be reasonable for us to get a divorce and then file for a Civil Union. This is really a bad idea. Something like 1000 benefits that married couples have are denied to those bound by civil union. Not the least of which is a civil union is a state code, and therefore not transferable across borders. Maybe it would take a large show of solidarity like that from married heterosexual couples to make the point and bring this into the light for how idiotic it is.

4-stars