Milk (2008) (Blu Ray) - 9/10

After watching Milk again on Blu Ray this morning it's impossible not to be moved and realize it's importanance as a film, not just as an entertaining take on the man and his movement but something that meant a great deal to everyone involved. Using perhaps the best integration of archival footage with modern sets made to look like historical San Francisco, Milk is a hard movie to watch at times due to it's graphic homosexual content, but the fact that it's a true story about the persecution this group of people faced not that long ago is interesting. I'm not very comfortable with gays in movies but I think if there's any reason to believe in it's tolerance, this is it. With amazing performances by Sean Penn, Emile Hirsh, James Brolin, and James Franco, we are transported into Harvey Milk taping his own biography in flashback as he explains the hardships of coming out and struggles to become the first openly gay public official. What's so cool about this movie is not only the handheld documentary feel that Van Sant uses but the way that they completely throw you into this culture and show you a side that I never knew was so affecting to people's lives. The dedication and passion they had for equal rights is something that everyone should respect, for if there is one thing you believe in above all else that makes you happy, you should be able to defend and protect that as your constituational right. For me, it's the overwhelming support and effect his assasination had on the people of SF, showing that one man really can make a difference in this world. The editing, music by Danny Elfman, and cinematography all add to a fantastic representation of this time period in America where gay people were just being recognized and accepted for fighting for their own rights. It's a shame this battle is still being waged today through Prop 8 as this movie is more relevant today as it could ever be. This movie made me not only more tolerant and believe that gays should have equal rights, but it opened up my eyes to Harvey Mik's power of will to never surrender and stand up for what he thought was right. A true hero and someone who will not soon be forgotten.