Milk (2008)

Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008) tells the story of the adult life -- a life that began at 40 -- of Harvey Milk (1930-1978), a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.

Milk and then-Mayor Moscone's assassinations at City Hall by disgruntled ex-Supervisor Dan White (who had resigned, then, at the urging of the SF Police Commission, sought to have that resignation overturned, but was refused by Moscone at Milk's urging) was big news when I was sixteen. But White's conviction on the lesser charge of manslaughter (the jury accepted White's defence: that he was driven to murder based on a diet of junk food) was just as big.

Van Sant's presentation of Milk (played by Sean Penn) shows a man who was passionate about his beliefs, occasionally to the point of irritation. A consequence of public service is a big ego, and Milk knew this, as did those who knew and loved him.

A highlight of the film is the inclusion of historical footage, as well as materials from Milk's campaigns, like the handbills he and his aides handed out. Back then, social critics used different terms to critique institutions like the Police, taking a more literary approach ("revise"). Nowadays we begin -- and end -- with the money ("defund"). 

On that topic, the City of Vancouver approved its 2022 budget in December, 2021. The total is $1.747 billion, of which $367 million goes to the Vancouver Police Department.