The phenomenon called Hedwig

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2007)

Oh my, this Hedwig is one angry German glam-rocking bitch.
The character of Hedwig was already created in 1994 by John Cameron Mitchell and was gradually turned into a theater show and became a real sensation in New York City in 1999, so the film version was inevitable. One can't help but have enormous admiration for the enormous amount of work and energy he put into bringing this adaptation of his Off-Broadway act onto the screen and produce this riveting glam-rock musical mockumentary about an East-German transsexual singer touring the American Midwest with his rock-band "The Angry Inch".
A gifted storyteller and 'internationally ignored' rock singer, Hedwig's disillusions do not inhibit her from pursuing ambitions of grotesque grandness, in fact, it's hard to think of a more narcissistic person than her. Hedwig was born as a boy named Hansel in the former East-Berlin whose life dream is to find his 'other half'. He reluctantly submits to a sex change operation in order to marry an American G.I. and get over the Berlin Wall to freedom. However, the operation is botched, leaving him with the titular 'angry inch.' (from now on, I shall refer to Hedwig in the female form again) After a few years of marriage and ending up in a Kansas City trailer-park, Hedwig pushes on to form a rock band and encounters a young singer, whom she dubs Tommy Gnosis, who eventually leaves her, steals her songs and becomes a huge rock star.
Most of the film features angry Hedwig performing in near-empty diners filled with the occasional fan, but mostly with unwilling suburban audiences, not quite ready for her emotional honesty. Many of the songs are great, not really my kind of music, but there's no denying this is a musical that rocks, made by people who really know rock music. The occasional flashback to Hedwig's Berlin youth have a surprisingly touching and emotional touch, but the narrative arc to put all this into a more broader political context didn't quite do it for me. It's the kind of grand, somewhat simplified gesture, like comparing Hedwig's own longing for his 'other half' to the history of the Berlin Wall, that can be hard to swallow. However, the filming is great, a real colourful visual palet and the writing offers enough sardonic wit to keeps things sharp and edgy and - most importantly - Mitchell's presence is so commanding, he practically forces you to pay full attention throughout the film's running time.
Camera Obscura --- 7/10