on Howl (the film, not the poem)

my yin and i took a long walk on the beach yesterday morning, discussing the differences between Dvaita and Advaita Vedanta, with a healthy dose of Tantric philosophy thrown in just for good measure. needless to say, no firm conclusions were reached.

but this is beside the point.

the point is that we went to see Howl in the afternoon. this is the type of film that typically leaves me bursting with energy, so much so that i can barely sit in my seat until it's over. sadly, however, this wasn't the case yesterday. it was enjoyable, but not captivating, and it seems that poor execution was the culprit.

Ginsberg and Orlovsky, so to speak

the film is concerned only with the poem itself, and the mythic personalities (Cassady, Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, et al) surrounding its creation play only a supporting role. this even applies to Ginsberg himself, which i thought was a refreshing turn from the typical conventions of the biopic.

the film transpires at: 1) the first public reading in 1955 at Gallery Six;
2) the 1957 obscenity trial of Ferlinghetti in San Francisco; and 3) an interview with Ginsberg, ostensibly occurring in Manhattan at the same time as Ferlinghetti's trial.

'Howl' itself provides the organizing structure between these venues, but something about the transition from one to the other was off. the film felt disjointed, and not even James Franco's handsome portrayal of a young, not-yet-balding Allen Ginsberg could stitch it back together.

in spite of this, there was one aspect of the film that blew me away:

"The typewriter is holy..."

the animation in the film (based on Eric Drooker's illustrations) was fantastic, effectively illuminating scenes from the poem without being overly illustrative or allusive. it moved in and out of rhythm with the words, creating and resolving tension like a half-stoned jazz musician on a Tuesday night. in this way, it reminded me of Saylor's work:

for more of Saylor's work click here

the animated sequences, like the poem itself, allowed one a glimpse into:

the heart of the Fifties

(to be continued...)