A nonlinear exploration of Allen Ginsberg's life, the creation of his masterpiece, and the landmark obscenity trial that defined literary freedom.
It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society's reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.
Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Rating: 6.4/10 (197 votes)