The Times of Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk moved from New York to San Francisco and opened a camera shop there. Then he entered politics. After losing three times he was elected to the city board in 1977, among the first in America to be elected while saying openly that he was gay. A year later he was shot, together with the mayor, by a former member of the board in the same building. The killer made an unusual defence in court and received a light sentence; the night the verdict was announced there was rioting in the city. Rob Epstein directs. The documentary was released in 1984 and won the Academy Award for documentary feature. Its force comes from the witnesses. People who worked with Milk, traders from the district, a union organiser and his neighbours speak to camera, all from different worlds. The archive is extensive: board recordings, local news footage and Milk's own audio. He knew he might be killed and had left a tape; that recording is used in the film. Its second subject is the political climate of the late seventies: a statewide ballot campaign to have gay teachers dismissed. The documentary is not a portrait; it describes a few particular years of a city. Who it is for: anyone interested in political documentary and the history of rights movements in America. Who it is not for: the subject is heavy, the quality of the archive varies, and the ending is hard.