Best movies like Milk
Never blend in.
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Milk Starring Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, and more. If you liked Milk then you may also like: Vito, Wilde, No Night Is Too Long, The Normal Heart, August and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.
Milk
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No Night Is Too Long
A chance meeting, a stolen kiss and a sudden flare of passion sets a handsome young university student on a journey of betrayal, heartbreak and murder.
The Normal Heart
The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.
August
August tells the story of two former lovers, Troy and Jonathan, who reunite after a long ago painful breakup. After spending several years in Spain, Troy returns to Los Angeles and decides to phone Jonathan and meet for coffee. A seemingly innocent rendezvous turns into an attempt to revive passions past. Only this time it's not that simple as Jonathan has a new beau, Raul, and is trying to make the right decision a second time around.
Beautiful Thing
Set during a long, hot summer on the Thamesmead Estate in Southeast London, three teenagers edge towards adulthood.
Before Night Falls
Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.
Before Stonewall
New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots.
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
Billy Collier is a photographer working on a series of pictures featuring recreations of movie kisses, with drag queens playing the female roles. For his male model, he hires Gabriel, a young waiter on whom he has developed a serious crush. While Billy is openly gay, Gabriel says that he is straight and even claims to have a girlfriend. However, as they spend more time together and grow closer, Billy becomes increasingly unsure that this is true.
Boys Don't Cry
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
Prayers for Bobby
Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.
I Am Michael
The controversial true story of a gay activist who rejects his homosexuality and becomes a Christian pastor.
Get Real
Steven spends his school days longing for all-star athlete John. But John has a gorgeous girlfriend, and Steven is still in the closet about being gay. The only one who knows the teenager's secret is his friend Linda. After a curious run-in with John in a public restroom, Steven starts to wonder if the jock is straight after all. When they start a romance, it threatens to expose the truth about both of them.
Torch Song Trilogy
A very personal story that is both funny and poignant, TORCH SONG TRILOGY chronicles a New Yorker's search for love, respect and tradition in a world that seems not especially made for him.
Edge of Seventeen
1984, Sandusky, Ohio. A naive 17-year-old navigates heartbreak and self-expression as he explores his sexuality.
Philadelphia
Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
Shelter
Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach works dead-end jobs to support his sister and her son. Questioning his life, he paints, surfs and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe. When Gabe's older brother returns home for the summer, Zach suddenly finds himself drawn into a relationship he didn't expect.
The Mudge Boy
Chronicling the troubled existence of Duncan Mudge, a 14-year-old misfit who—while vying for the attention of his vacant father—struggles to fill the void brought on by his mother's sudden death.
How to Survive a Plague
A story of two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) – whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.
Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story
Marc Hall, a young man living in Quebec, registers his prom date as per his Catholic school's rules. He is denied his request, because his prom date is a boy. Marc Hall is an openly gay teenager in a very conservative Catholic school. This film documents his struggles (legal, emotional, ethical and personal) to be himself and to live his life the way he deems best. With the help of friends, family and supporters, "Cinderfella" makes it to the ball, With his Prince Charming.
The Times of Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.
Tru Loved
Recently relocated from San Francisco to conservative suburbia by her lesbian mothers, Tru struggles like all teens to fit in and find love, but her quest is complicated by sexual politics, closed minds, and closeted friends as she seeks to establish her school's first Gay-Straight Alliance.
Just Say Love
Physical attractions appear to be the obvious explanation for two people to become a pair. But are they really the reflection of something sublime, everlasting or dare we say, spiritual? Do relationships start in the bedroom or in the heart? In this male love story, the bliss described by Joseph Campbell and sages throughout the millennia is a practical option for finding happiness. As the camera delves into the character’s minds and actions we find fulfillment on both a physical and spiritual level.
For the Bible Tells Me So
An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.
Uncle Frank
In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid.
Love Is Strange
After 39 years together, Ben and George finally tie the knot, but George loses his job as a result, and the newlyweds must sell their New York apartment and live apart, relying on friends and family to make ends meet.
The Stranger in Us
In this verité-style drama, Anthony, a newcomer to San Francisco, attempts to come to terms with his abusive ex-lover when he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a street hustler.
Any Day Now
In the late 1970s, when a mentally handicapped teenager is abandoned, a gay couple takes him in and becomes the family he's never had. But once the unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men must fight the legal system to adopt the child.
Nighthawks
A gay teacher is forced to hide his sexuality by day while living his secret life by night, in Great Britain in the 1970s, not mixing his professional and private life, until the day comes when his students and his headmaster find out.
Boy Erased
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Boys Life 2
Compilation of four short films, "Must Be the Music", "Nunzio's Second Cousin", "Alkali, Iowa", and "The Dadshuttle", of gay interest.
Execution of Justice
The true story of the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978. The case of assassin Dan White has become known as the "Twinkie defense" after his sentence was reduced from first-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter. White served five years in prison and committed suicide in 1985.
You Should Meet My Son!
A comedy about a conservative Southern mom who discovers that her only son is gay. Determined that he won’t go through life alone and miserable, she sets out to find him the perfect husband!
Rock Haven
The coastal California community of Rock Haven is the perfect place for cute eighteen-year-old Brady and his loving mother to begin a fresh start. Their mission: to spread the word of the Lord. But while roaming the beach one day, Brady meets Clifford, a young man who is the complete opposite of him: outgoing and athletic as well as incredibly handsome. Their initial encounter stirs up feelings of homo desire that Brady has been suppressing. Once Clifford makes it clear that their attraction is mutual, Brady's conflicting feelings of religious obligation and natural impulse go into overdrive, and the two young men must navigate their confusion, lust and beliefs in order to come to a mutual understanding.
Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story
Breaking the Surface is about the tough times Greg Louganis had on his way to becoming one of the world's top Olympic divers.
A Matter of Sex
Dramatization of the true story of the so-called Willmar Eight, a group of Minnesota bank workers who braved freezing conditions whilst picketing their branch in a struggle for union rights.
Finding Me
Faybien Allan has it all going on; he's young, stylish, and knows the importance of being seen with hip friends at NYC's trendiest spots. But beneath the sparkle of his nightlife and his stunning good-looks, is a man buckling under his father's homophobia. Filled with self-loathing and desperate for direction, he meanders through life until meeting Lonnie, a confident activist with a flirtatious smile. However, despite their obvious chemistry and fireworks in bed, Faybien's insecurities have him looking for the door. Can a budding romance and a few good friends keep him from making the biggest mistake of his life?
Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco - The Castro
Now known internationally as the world's first "gay hometown," San Francisco's Castro District was a quiet, working-class neighborhood of European immigrants only a few decades ago. In this documentary, the story of the Castro's transformation is told by those who lived it, young and old, straight and gay. It's a tale of social upheaval, exuberant street culture, political assassination, and the inspiring coming-of-age of an entire community an ongoing saga even today.
I Want Your Love
After a decade of living in San Francisco, Jesse is forced to move back to his Midwestern roots because he can no longer afford the city. On his final night in the city, friends and ex-lovers gather for a going away party that promises to heighten Jesse's already bittersweet feelings about leaving.
The Lost Coast
Director/screenwriter Gabriel Fleming (One Thousand Years) explores the subtleties of loneliness, friendship, and sexuality with this tale of two high school friends who are forced to face their unspoken sexual history while wandering the streets of San Francisco on Halloween night.
Vito
In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on screen. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Vito became a passionate advocate for justice via the newly formed ACT UP, before his death in 1990.