HOWL, The Poem in focus, Viewed at Berlin, 2010"Howl", in competition at Berlin 2010, straight from Sundance where it was the festival opener, is a semi-documentary focusing on a page out of the scandal ridden life of gay Poet Laureate of the Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg, when he was put on trial in 1957 for obscenity in connection with the publication of his magnum opus "Howl".(I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness ...). The poet is portrayed by actor James Franco who appeared opposite Sean Penn in last year's Oscarized gay mayor movie "Milk", and is directed in tandem by documentarians Rob Epstein (The times of Harvey Milk, 1984 ) and Jeffrey Friedman (The Celluloid Closet, 1995) Using Gínsberg's famous verse masterpiece as the focal point of the story, "Howl" looks at different aspects of this landmark poem of the Beat era. The poem itself is depicted through animation and Ginsberg is shown reading it to an audience for the first time, then being interviewed by a faceless reporter off camera. Tailor made for Beatnik Era buffs (such as myself, for instance). "Howl" was interesting historically, but generally rather disappointing. Maybe I was expecting too much but among other things, the main actor, James Franco, playing Ginsberg, just wasn't Jewish enough, abrasive enough, or Gay enough! Berlin, Feb,12, Day Number 2 February 12, 2010 The early morning press conference for HOWL screened last night was better than the film itself. Both directors Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein were on hand to field probing questions from a sparse but more sophisticated press assemblage than usual. One German lady claimed that the animation used to illustrate the Allen Ginsberg poem was too glitzy and modern to suit the fifties time frame of the film. The general feeling, however, was that the film was worthy and stimulating, if not geared to the mass audience.Other than that it can be said that this year's Berlinale, never a festival to start off slow, has already shot off much of its heaviest load and biggest guns in the opening three days. Among high profile premiers already screened have been the Alan Ginsberg biopic and homage to his magnum opus "HOWL", entitled --you guesstit -- "Howl" -- good reception here, but will probably be a hard sell at the cineplexes because of the experimental animation mixage and the intellectualized treatment of the subject matter. BOTTOM LINE: For Ginsberg buffs and Beat Generation historians only.

Alan Ginsberg is an Iconic Figure of the Beat Generation. His Worth as a Poet is, Like All Poets and Art for that Matter, a Matter of Taste. Ginsberg's Howl Might be too Self Indulgent to be Great Poetry but is a Seminal Work that Broke Boundaries, and was Famously Attacked for being Obscene.The Obscenity Trial that was the Result of the Book being Sold Openly on Bookstore Shelves is Witnessed here with Verbatim Trial Transcripts Dramatized by Actors. The Beats are Secondary to Ginsberg's Persona and this One Particular Poem. That Coupled with HIs Homosexuality is the Focus.James Franco seems to be Acting here and the Beard is Laughable at Times. But it is an Honest Effort and doesn't Distract too much from the Overall Impact and Power of the Movie. It is a Unique Format Interspersing Surreal Animation to Illustrate some of the Poems more Lured Laments and it Works Just Fine and has a Distorted and Catchy Style.Overall, the Film is a Fine Gloss of the Beats and a Somewhat Intriguing Probe into One of its Accidental Founders. Ginsberg is Like an Angry Dove and His Stream of Consciousness Poetry is Interesting and its Clunky Style is Either Genius or Nothing More than an Angst Ridden Excuse for Him to Lay Waste to a Hypocritical World that did not Accept His Lifestyle or His Family's Mental Illness with Much Compassion. Overall the Film and Ginsberg's Work is a Matter of Taste or it could be said…"One Man's Meat is Another Man's Poison".

Epstein and Friedman's depiction of Allen Ginsberg's poem Howl is very well developed and although its progression of the message was slow and not to easy to follow at some points, it kept me satisfyingly intrigued throughout. They help you to understand what Howl as a poem truly represents, aside from the message Ginsberg was trying to convey, the most important aspect of the poem is its place in artistic history for the fight of free expression and freedom of speech. But what this film helps you to really grab an understanding for is that that is what the lines of Howl are all about, although many mistake the poem as just Ginsberg's expression of his "coming out" as a homosexual, if you take the time to read it or listen to Ginsberg explain the poem you'll see its more of an expression of expression, a "coming out" for any aspect of life that needed to be shown in such a perspective.

Howl is truly an enigma: It didn't do well at the Hollywood box office, but it soared overseas. From what I hear, the Hollywood audience wasn't quite ready for the intergenerational theme imbued in the film. Well, I say the Hollywood audience was being stubborn. This film handles the theme quite tastefully, and there are no Lolita-like gratuitous sex scenes or love scenes. In fact, Jeffrey Friedman (the director) makes sure that James Franco doesn't even get to see many kids around his neighborhood, so as not to make him seem like a weirdo.Mary-Louise Parker is absolutely wonderful in this film. It seems she decided to gorge on biryani and other delights, as she is chubby in the film, but in my opinion she looks gorgeous thick or thin. Todd Rotondi, who I think is one of the most underrated actors out there does an outstanding job portraying a conflicted Kerouac. Anupam Kher and Aaron Tveit round out the great performances. The music is fabulous, the story wonderful, and the acting superb.