《Milk》　米尔克　权益争取之路

No.043　《Milk》　米尔克　权益争取之路

英文导读

Milk is a 2008 American biographical film based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black, the film stars Sean Penn as Milk and Josh Brolin as Dan White, a city supervisor who assassinated Milk.

Academy Award winner Sean Penn takes the title role in Gus Van Sant's biopic tracing the last eight years in the life of Harvey Milk, the ill-fated politician and gay activist whose life changed history, and whose courage still inspires people. When Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, he made history for being the first openly gay man in American history to be voted into public office. But the rights of homosexuals weren't Milk's primary concern, as tellingly evidenced by the wide array of political coalitions he formed over the course of his tragically brief career. He fought for everyone from union workers to senior citizens, a true hero of human rights who possessed nothing but compassion for his fellow man. The story begins in New York City, where a 40-year-old Milk ponders what steps he can take to make his life more meaningful. Eventually, Milk makes the decision to relocate to the West Coast, where he and his lover, Scott Smith (James Franco), found a small business in the heart of a working-class neighborhood. Empowered by his love for the Castro neighborhood and the success of his business, Castro Camera, Milk somewhat unexpectedly begins to emerge as an outspoken agent for change. With a growing support system that includes both Scott and a like-minded young activist named Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch), the charismatic Milk decides to take a fateful leap into politics, eventually developing a reputation as a leader who isn't afraid to follow up his words with actions. In short order, he is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, though this seeming triumph is in fact the catalyst for a tragedy that starts to unfold as Milk does his best to forge a political partnership with Dan White (Josh Brolin), another newly elected supervisor. Over time it becomes apparent that Milk and White's political agendas are directly at odds, a revelation that puts their personal destinies on a catastrophic collision course.

Attempts to put Milk's life to film followed a 1984 documentary of his life and the aftermath of his assassination, titled The Times of Harvey Milk, which was loosely based upon Randy Shilts's biography, The Mayor of Castro Street. (The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for 1984, and was awarded Special Jury Prize at the first Sundance Film Festival, among other awards.) Various scripts were considered in the early 1990s, but projects fell through for different reasons, until 2007. Much of Milk was filmed on Castro Street and other locations in San Francisco, including Milk's former storefront, Castro Camera.

Milk received positive reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 94% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of 209, with an average score of 8.0/10. Todd McCarthy of Variety called the film "adroitly and tenderly observed", "smartly handled", and "most notable for the surprising and entirely winning performance by Sean Penn". He added, "while Milk is unquestionably marked by many mandatory scenes . . . the quality of the writing, acting and directing generally invests them with the feel of real life and credible personal interchange, rather than of scripted stops along the way from aspiration to triumph to tragedy. And on a project whose greatest danger lay in its potential to come across as agenda-driven agitprop, the filmmakers have crucially infused the story with qualities in very short supply today—gentleness and a humane embrace of all its characters."

The film was released to much acclaim, earned numerous accolades from film critics and guilds. Ultimately, it received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, winning two for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Penn and Best Original Screenplay for Black.

获奖情况

2009年第81届奥斯卡：最佳男主角、最佳原创剧本奖，并荣获最佳影片提名、最佳导演提名、最佳男配角提名、最佳剪辑提名。

影片信息

导演：格斯·范·桑特

编剧：达斯汀·兰斯·布莱克

主演：西恩·潘、乔什·布洛林、詹姆斯·弗兰科、迭戈·鲁纳

类型：剧情、传记

制片国家（地区）：美国

上映日期：2008-11-26（美国）

片长：128分钟

又名：《夏菲米克的时代》《自由大道》《哈维·米克》《牛奶分子》

剧情简介

哈维·米尔克是曾被美国《时代》杂志选为20世纪代表人物之一的同性恋政治家。在1970年，曾作为首个公开同性恋身份的政客参加竞选，并成功担任旧金山市政府官员。随后，他一直致力于为同性恋者争取平等的公民权益。但是，不久之后，米尔克和他的政治盟友——市长乔治·莫斯科恩一起被保守派丹·怀特刺杀身亡。这次悲剧，唤醒了当地的同性恋者。

20世纪70年代，年届不惑事业有成、然而感情生活却一路坎坷的小商人米尔克（西恩·潘　饰），偶然邂逅了年轻英俊的男子斯科特·史密斯（詹姆斯·弗兰科　饰），两人迅速陷入热恋，米尔克自此也开始认识到自身真正的性取向。不久他们搬到旧金山卡斯特罗街，合力经营一家摄影器材商店。随着两人恋情的公开化，小店逐渐成为同志们的聚集地，最后扩展到整个街区。

然而，同性恋在当时仍不为公众所接受，他们依然受到种种不公平的待遇。米尔克有感于此，决心从政，竞选城市监察员，以一己之力推动政府改善同性恋者们的境遇。屡战屡败的米尔克最终获得成功，却也遭到保守势力的责难与攻击……

制作花絮

本片原定由马特·达蒙来饰演片中丹·怀特一角，但拍摄时间与马特·达蒙已接下的《绿色地带》一片冲突，所以马特·达蒙最后放弃了这个角色。

上千名支持同性恋合法权益的人在本片中免费出演群众演员角色。

在本片中，影片主角哈维·米尔克为争取同性恋合法而献出了自己的生命；30多年后的2008年11月4日，在影片上映前夕，加州议会通过决议，只承认异性结婚的合法权益。

男主角西恩·潘为此片减肥约22千克。

电影中米尔克工作的店“castro camera”的场景是在现实中一家叫做“given”的礼品店中拍摄的。电影工作人员和礼品店店主一起改变了店内的装潢摆设，在这个店中还拍摄了一场影片中出现的照相机店的场景。

重点学习

In short order

In short order是英语中的一个固定短语，是“在短期内；迅速，立即；立刻”的意思，比如：Several factors have rocketed the price of cheese higher in short order.（多种因素已造成奶酪价格在短期内飙升。）

Over time it becomes apparent that Milk and White's political agendas are directly at odds

在英语中，odds有“相争，不和”的意思，所以文中的at odds是“争执，意见不一致；争吵，不和；不相称，不和谐”的意思，比如：Around the same time, the two were at odds again over a completely different issue.（大概在同一时间，双方又因一桩完全不同的事件而起了争执。）

单词时间

supervisor[ˈsju:pəvaizə] n. 监督人，管理人；检查员

ill-fated[ˈilˈfeitid] adj. 不幸的；厄运的

homosexual[ˌhɔməuˈseksjuəl] n. 同性恋者

coalition[ˌkəuəˈliʃən] n. 联合；结合，合并

union[ˈju:niən] n. 联盟，协会；工会；联合

relocate[ˌri:ləuˈkeit] vi. 重新安置；迁移新址

unexpectedly[ˈʌnikˈspektidli] adv. 出乎意料地，意外地

outspoken[ˌautˈspəukən] adj. 坦率的，直言不讳的

charismatic[ˌkærizˈmætik] adj. 超凡魅力的；神赐能力的

partnership[ˈpɑ:tnəʃip] n. 合伙；合伙企业；合作关系；合伙契约

catastrophic[ˌkætəˈstrɔfik] adj. 灾难的；悲惨的

collision[kəˈliʒən] n. （意见，看法）的抵触，冲突

biography[baiˈɔɡrəfi] n. 传记；档案；个人简介

adroitly[əˈdrɔitli] adv. 熟练地；敏捷地

mandatory[ˈmændətəri:] adj. 强制的；托管的；命令的

interchange[ˌintəˈtʃeindʒ] n. 互换；立体交叉道