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Howl
Howl
6.5
/10
2,462 Ratings

HOWL

Directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
United States, 2010
Drama, Biography, LGBTQ+, History

Synopsis

San Francisco, mid ’50s. Poet Allen Ginsberg lives with fellow writers Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. He is about to publish Howl, an electrifying poem which will make him a cultural icon and define the soon-to-be Beat Generation. But soon after its release, Ginsberg is put on trial for obscenity.

Synopsis

San Francisco, mid ’50s. Poet Allen Ginsberg lives with fellow writers Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. He is about to publish Howl, an electrifying poem which will make him a cultural icon and define the soon-to-be Beat Generation. But soon after its release, Ginsberg is put on trial for obscenity.

Our take

Poetic revolutions and societal transgressions course throughout this hybrid biopic of the iconic Allen Ginsberg. Mixing courtroom drama, found footage, and swirling animation, LGBTQ+ duo Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman channel a jazzy, Beatnik energy into an exhilarating homage to the epic Howl.