Two Quick Movie Recommendations
Slumdog Millionaire is the unbelievable but undeniably entertaining story of Jamal (Dev Patel), an eighteen year-old tea boy who stuns all in a run of the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Growing up orphaned in the colors and contrasts of modern India, the film, through a series of flashbacks, uses the questions of the game show as a dramatic foil to tell the story of Jamal’s childhood. Suspicious of how a mere tea boy could conquer the show that stumps brilliant professionals, Jamal is tortured by the police, but vigorously argues his innocence. In a style the New Yorker calls, “urban-manic: heated performances, even hotter colors, and camerawork that views with the editing for nerve and speed” the film is the best experience of modern India I’ve seen in a drama. Beyond that, however, it’s a story of innocence, survival, luck, and persistence. I recommend it.
Milk, directed by Gus Van Sant, is a bio-pic of gay activist and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), who was assassinated in 1978. Penn shines in the film, portraying the free and fun attitude of 1970s San Fran gay culture without being ostentatious or overbearing. Throughout the film I kept thinking, “this could only have happened before AIDS” and marveled at the openness –and sometimes naivete– of the 70s gay movement. Before the film and its culture splash, I had not heard of Harvey Milk and never would have guessed a prominent openly gay politician could have been elected in the 70s. Whether viewed for that reason, or for Penn’s performance, or fun two hours of 70s reminiscing, or for the innocence of pre-AIDS culture, I recommend Milk for your viewing pleasure.
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On the 70s: In watching the movie, I remembered how much more open the 70s were than the present time. The Christian right was only beginning to be publicly involved in politics and was mostly looked down on. I was surprised to see both Reagan and Carter opposing Prop 6 (was it 6?). I think I remember when Milk and Mascone were assassinated.
I found your comments about “portraying the free and fun attitude of 1970s San Fran gay culture without being ostentatious or overbearing” and “this could only have happened before AIDS” and marveled at the openness –and sometimes naiveté– of the 70s gay movement” irritating. The Stonewall riots set off the gay rights movement in 1969. Milk was an important figure on this journey. Naiveté? AIDS was the result of our being open? Gay culture being ostentatious or overbearing? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I doubt you even know what gay culture is.
John McNeese
Thanks for your comments, John. I hear your criticism and, certainly, I’m no expert on 70s California anything. “Naivete” was probably a poor choice of words.
I was specifically thinking of a scene where Milk speaks of the relative ease of coming out in the wake of some failed CA anti-gay legislation.
Still, though, what really struck me with the film is how much would be different were it set 10/15 years later (I know it’s a bio-pic, but you can get my drift).
Re your gay culture quip, I’m not sure I’d call myself knowledgeable about mid-twenties white straight southern grad student culture — that’d be my life — let alone any other. It seems to me that’s the challenge of our society today. It’s very difficult to make general statements because they are so many exceptions, and we now know how important it is to consider the exceptions. Perhaps I should have written more carefully, or perhaps the gay culture I’m familiar with is just different than what you’re considering.
Last weekend I stayed with good friends of mine, a partnered lesbian couple. One of them noted herself how unassuming and uncontroversial their lives are. They said they live what anybody else would call boring uneventful lives. They wondered what other folks thought their lifestyle was supposed to be, because in actuality, it’s as white toast and vanilla ice cream as anybody’s in their neighborhood.
So yeah, good questions that get at broader challenges in describing the lives we live today.