Hedwig: Rock, Amor e Traição

No matter how much I do praise it, I'll end up turning people against it. But, let me ask you: what were you expecting when you first heard of Hedwig and the Angry Inch? It's been billed as a punk rock musical about a transsexual from East Germany who was duped into coming to live in a trailer park in Kansas City. So what was I expecting? A gay camp film. I had no doubts that it would be anything else. And that's not to say that I wouldn't have enjoyed a gay camp movie. After all, I liked Moulin Rouge. But I got a surprise that was entirely unexpected: what I experienced was the best new film I had seen in years. And I mean that. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is equally hilarious and touching. Not that I want to spread cliches, but I seriously laughed and I seriously cried, often simultaneously. This manages to be the best American comedy since, damn, Preston Sturges was still writing and directing. It's easily the best movie musical since Cabaret. It's also one of the most heartfelt and passionate dramas, and one of the best character studies I've ever seen. Along with that, John Cameron Mitchell delivers a performance that perhaps hasn't been equalled since, I don't know, Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull, which might be the ultimate cinematic character study. I shouldn't say that, because it might hint that Hedwig is a dark character, but, well, I'd call her just a great protagonist. She's a heroine, especially to anyone experiencing sexual confusion, but even to me, a straight, Midwestern boy. Hedwig is a heroine for anyone who's ever felt that they've been treated like crap their entire life. I wanted to clap for and support Hedwig emotionally throughout the entire film. In short, Hedwig is a character I deeply loved, equal to just a few other characters I've met throughout my extensive journeys in the cinema. Parallel to a situation in the film, if I should ever see John Cameron Mitchell on the street, I'd have to hug him.

I also have another heap of praise that I have to go through before I am done. I've always thought that movie musicals adapted from stage plays were the death of the genre. Only a few exceptions ever seemed more than unimaginative, slavish films that worked only to bring Broadway to an audience who could or would never visit NYC. Cabaret was the one big exception that I had seen previously, but you also hear West Side Story mentioned as being a great film. But, in adapting a stage play for the screen, I always expect the film to seem stranded on stage. To boot, Hedwig had another mark against it: the director, Mitchell again, had never directed a film before. Well, I really don't know what training he had in the art, but it must have been enough. The cinematic art, at least the visual aspect of it, has nearly been forgotten in the 1990s and 2000s, but John Cameron Mitchell creates a visual tour de force as much as he does one of writing and acting. I love the scene where Hedwig the adult reminisces about how his mother forced him to put his head in the oven if he wanted to sing when he was a child. And Hedwig and the Angry Inch's (that's the band's name as well as the film's) appearance outside the Menses Festival next to the port-o-potties. A goth chick, who presumably didn't have tickets for the actual Menses Festival, watches the band in deep curiosity and confusion; Hedwig invites the girl to sit up on stage with her while she relates her past. I also love the sequence where the American G.I. discovers him laying naked in rubble. Hedwig's original name was Hansel, which leads to one of the funniest jokes I can ever recall seeing. Or how about the scene where Hedwig, when babysitting, discovers Tommy, the future rock star who steals all her songs, masturbating in the bath tub? That scene is handled so well that I almost died laughing. To tell you the truth, I don't think there is anything ostensibly wrong with the film, period. I just wanted to talk about the amazing direction because the one review of it I have on hand says "the direction can't help from being flat." FLAT? How can you say that it is flat? PS: The animated number and the song that goes along with it is adapted from Aristophanes' speech in Plato's Symposium, about which I wrote my senior thesis in college. The rock star's stage name, Gnosis, is Ancient Greek for "knowledge," which Hedwig actually says in the film. One of the filmmakers must have learned Ancient Greek at some point in his life. Bravo, good sirs.

Already the winner of numerous awards including the Audience and Director awards at Sundance, this is the film of an original stage musical comedy that played off Broadway for over two years. It centres on Hedwig, whose only way of escaping from East Berlin is to undergo a sex-change and assume his mother's identity. Unfortunately the operation goes wrong and he is left with an `angry inch'. Escaping to America, he forms a rock band whilst seeking the soul partner that will fulfil his destiny. Loaded with songs that you will be humming all the way out of the cinema, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the funniest, most outrageously entertaining movie of its kind since Rocky Horror. Unlike Rocky Horror, it does have some more serious philosophical reflections built into it (mostly via the songs), but it rocks, kicks ass and injects some seriously funny pizzaz into the transgender scene. I had the advantage not only of seeing the UK stage version a few days after the film, but also hearing the director speak about his work at the UK premiere. As a first time film effort it's quite an accomplishment, but as Cameron also played Hedwig in the stage version he had a starter for ten. On the down-side, the film is probably better on second or third viewing, when all the pieces would fit into place, and towards the end there is a tendency to tell the story only in songs and so at the expense of any serious script writing. But still it's a must-see movie.

This movie is insane. That's why I liked it so much. The plot and visuals are as twisted as the inch that Hedwig is left with after her botched sex-change. In contrast, the lyrics of the many songs in the this movie are beautiful and poetic. I'm going to search out the sound track for this movie, as the songs were brilliant and inspiring.

This movie shows that everything has two sides that some how merge together to form the truth, The beautiful woman with the ugly, scarred genitals. The everlasting love soured by betrayal and shame. The cravings for success marred by the fear of power.

The unusual story, and the wonderful music make this movie alone worth watching. The amazing acting, outrageous costumes, and fabulous wigs make it a cult classic.

Another success for producer Christine Vachon, and a definite recommend from me!!!

I watched this mainly because Joan Jett rocked with the star of it back in 2001 or so. So, I just expected a rock musical about a drag queen that wanted to make it big, nothing more. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was so much more than that!

First off, this film is such a visual piece of art! Secondly, the songs are great! And third- and most important, this film is a beautiful bending of visual and intellectual ideas. It's quite absurdist and crude at times, but mostly, it's philosophical, spiritual and sweet. This is a twin flame movie, for sure! I loved it!

When one thinks of the concept of `rock musical,' one would usually think of brainless dance extravaganzas with no plot to be had. Well, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not. Hedwig! The tremendously brilliant Hedwig and the Angry Inch counters the one's stereotype of the rock musical; it has intelligence, ingenuity and a deeper meaning. Unlike its predecessor Rocky Horror Picture Show, it is filmed through an artist's view and has the sexual energy and the integrity to match that of an art film.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch began as an Off-Broadway musical in 1997, where it achieved cult status and critical acclaim. It is the story of Hansel (Ben Mayer-Goodman/John Cameron Mitchell), a homosexual young man who grew up in communist East Berlin, and dreamed of leaving his war-ridden homeland to find his soul mate. He thinks that he finds his soul mate in the person of U.S. Sergeant Luther Robinson (Maurice Dean Wint), a man who lusts for Hansel, but does not accept him for who he is. He proposes marriage to Hansel, with the promise that he will take him from East Berlin to America. However, Hansel's freedom comes with a price; he must undergo a sex change operation. Hansel's mother (Roberta Watson) gives Hansel her passport, and her name: Hedwig.

However, things do not go as planned. Hedwig's operation got botched, rendering her with an `angry inch,' and Luther instantly abandons her in a loathsome trailer in Kansas, where she keeps herself afloat with her dreams of becoming a glam rock star. To finance herself, she turns tricks at a nearby military base and becomes a babysitter for the children of commander of the local army fort. As a result, she falls in love with the commander's son, Tommy (Michael Pitt). Hedwig allows Tommy to collaborate on the brilliant songs that she has written and endows him with the rock name of `Gnosis,' the Greek word for `knowledge.' However, when Tommy learns of her sex, he too abandons her, steals Hedwig's songs, and becomes a rock and roll icon.

The film opens with Hedwig and her band, the aptly titled `Angry Inch,' performing in the straight-laced chain restaurant Bilgewater's, to horrified customers. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, along with their manager, Phyllis (Andrea Martin), have been following Tommy's world tour. In fact, Bilgewater's is adjacent to the humungous stadium where Tommy is performing. During her `world tour,' Hedwig recounts her heartbreaking story through a series of flashbacks, implemented through fades of white and different cinematography (absences of color, quality of film, etc).

The driving force behind every aspect in this film is John Cameron Mitchell, who starred, directed, and wrote the screenplay for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. This happening was extremely important, because Mitchell derived the entire concept of the Hedwig and brilliantly adapted it for the Off-Broadway stage. The stage version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch involved Hedwig recounting her past experiences through a narrative, so for the film version, Mitchell simply implemented the flashbacks in live action sequences. Even though his performance as Hedwig is deliciously tawdry sexual, through his brilliant acting talent, one is able to have a peek at Hedwig's loves and inner desperation for acceptance. Mitchell derived the basic concept of Hedwig and the Angry Inch from his own experiences growing up as the homosexual son of an army general. His father served in Berlin, and he had firsthand knowledge of the war situation.

Unlike most other rock musicals, the brilliant songs that Hedwig periodically performed were done so during Hedwig's stage performances, not at random points in the film. This aspect added to the believability of the film, discouraging the absurdity of its predecessors. Stephen Trask, who also appeared in the film, brilliantly wrote the Hedwig's songs. The songs did not have a tinge of campy like Broadway-style songs; they reflected the glam rock principles like the songs of David Bowie and Lou Reed from which they were based. Trask's past is in rock and roll, hence the obvious edge of the songs in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Mitchell's beautiful voice adds a triumphant punch to all of the songs (he starred in numerous musicals prior to Hedwig.) and lets the emotions of the beautiful lyrics and his brilliant performance shine through.

Even though Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a very low-budgeted independent film, Mitchell turned to his inventive imagination in order to create a richly beautiful and artistic piece. For example, he used imaginative camera angles to produce special effects. During `Angry Inch' performance scene, he executed a low angle medium shot underneath him to make it appear as though he was flying over a room of revolting people. Then, he executed a high angle long shot to depict the people from his perspective. Also, he used cinematography to change the mood of the film from the beginning to the end. For example, in the beginning of the film, Hedwig wore lush, elaborate wigs and brightly colored costumes and lighting was in warm, pinkish hues to depict Hedwig's more positive outlook. In contrast, toward the end of the film, Hedwig wore stark wigs and costumes and the film was filmed in higher contrast to depict Hedwig's tragic breakdown.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch recounts Hedwig's journey to find her soul mate: her journey of becoming `whole.' Mitchell derived this concept from `Plato's Symposium,' in which there were three sexes of people (man-woman, woman-woman, and man-man), with four arms and four legs, that were split in half by Zeus and wandered the earth, searching for their other half. Hedwig views herself as being a half of a whole, and thus does not accept herself for who she really is. Her first two attempts at love proved to be futile, and her current relationship with band mate, Yitzhak (Miriam Shor), is shallow and empty. In the face of adversity, Hedwig finds herself tragically alone. In order to find her destiny, she must look to herself for the answer.