Monday, December 01, 2008

MILK



i'm sure there are tons of posts out there about this, given the hordes of san franciscans going to see it, but here are my MILK thoughts anyway.

i feel so lucky to have seen this movie in THE BEST possible place to see it. the
castro theater (for non-SFers) is one of the oldest theaters still in operation in SF, and it is in the heart of the Castro district, where MILK was filmed. not only is it a beautiful theater, but it is a huge theater. and it is packed to the gills at every viewing of MILK. the line for ticket-holders starts forming at least an hour before the movie, and there in line, the excitement starts to build. apparently (and understandably) the castro theater is outselling any other theater in the country with its MILK sales. the atmosphere in the theater last night was fantastic. one huge crying, jubilating and crying mass. despite the tragedies of the story and the fact that we face the same hatred/ignorance today, i felt very hopeful there in the theater.

it is crazy (and sad) that we are indeed fighting such similar battles now. and harvey's criticism of the materials for no on 6
—that there were no gay people or mention of gays in the materials—are the same criticisms made about the pathetic advertising for no on 8. (wish we'd learned more from how harvey helped defeat 6).

if you live in the bay area and haven't seen MILK yet, you must see it at the castro theater. it is a beautiful experience.

now i need to see the times of harvey milk again though, because you can't beat the real harvey.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

we live on the east bay and though seeing it at the castro would be amazing, i think we'll probably catch it in our little albany theater. what do you think of sean penn's portrayal?

Kerstin Svendsen said...

hi jennifer. i don't know if anyone could have done a better job, but sean penn doesn't come across as at ease as i remember harvey seeming to be when i watched the documentary. it's been a while since i watched the documentary, so it's hard to judge.

tankymakey said...

I can only imagine what an incredible experience that must have been. I've been to that amazing theater (for Frameline years ago) and, when I saw Milk, all I could think about was how I wished I were in SF.