Sunday, March 27, 2011

Howl

An odd sort of film, but it made me happy. The beats have never been a particular touchstone for me, but of course the idea(l)s they stand for resonate very strongly, and this rendition of the "Howl" obscenity trial dramatises (performs) the poem itself - through a series of animations that are interspersed with scenes from the trial and a retrospective 'interview' with the poet - in a way that Ginsburg might have approved of...the film also made me realise how much the beat generation have influenced the modern hipster, consciously or nay, for better or for worse.

(w/ C)