Milk
Released in 2008 and starring Sean Penn this Gus Van Sant film brings the story of Harvey Milk to the big screen. For obvious reasons I like pro-gay films, but what I liked about this film is that it isn’t just a feel good story. The gay character isn’t a joke or comedic relief and isn’t the poor tragic character either. It shows the struggle that people like Harvey Milk went through, and both the good and bad times. For me it helps frame the gay rights movement and the history of gay and civil rights. I think it is important that gay people know their gay history; from Stone Wall to Prop 8 we need to know how far we’ve come and how much farther there is left to go. .It should also be mentioned that Sean Penn won the best actor academy award for this incredible portrayal.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The outfits alone in this Australian movie make it worth watching. It won an academy award for costumes. It’s the story of two drag queens (Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transsexual (Terrence Stamp) who travel to Alice Springs, a resort town in the Australian desert to put on some drag shows. It challenges the notion of masculinity and challenges what people are afraid of. Interestingly, none of the stars are gay which is heartwarming to see how much they embraced gay culture. It shows drag as an art form and rode the wave of gay rights to a standing ovation at the Cannes film festival.
Highlander
I first saw Highlander when I was 14 or 15 years old, which is the right age to see the film. Starring Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery and Clancy Brown, the story is about a group of immortal men who can only die if they get beheaded. The film jumps back and forth from the present (1986) to various times in the past. The way the scene cuts from the highlands of 15th century Scotland to the steamy New York of the late 80s still stays in my mind since it’s a brilliant piece of cinematography. It was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and the director’s cut version explains more about the past and makes the story a little more sensible but the action and sword fights are great. Plus the soundtrack was done by Queen specifically for the movie and it has some incredible pieces.
WARNING: Do not watch the sequels or the TV show, they ruin the original story.
Immortal Beloved
Directed by Bernard Rose, and starring Gary Oldman this is a love story of the life of Beethoven and a mysterious note he wrote to his “Immortal Beloved”. Obviously the music was fantastic, but for me it is the final scenes where we hear “Ode to Joy” the 9th Symphony that makes the entire film. A deaf, old, decrepit Beethoven remembers his childhood. His drunk father coming home to beat and (I think it is implied rape him), he escapes out the window to a pond where he floats on the water with the stars reflected behind him. The Ode to joy is my favorite piece of classical music, and this flash mob brought me to tears the first time I saw it. The way the different pieces come in and blend to the point where everything stops.
I don’t know if the story is true or not, but Gary Oldman’s portrayal is so convincing I think it might be. Even if you’re not a fan of classical music I would give this movie a shot.