Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Steineded How sad is this?

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Adam Peters (61%) A decent stab at bringing poetry to the sliver screen in this part animated snippet of Allen Ginsberg's life during a public obscenity trail around the release of his most noteworthy work. The runtime is pretty brief as it allows the poetry to do a fair amount of the talking with Ginsberg's life playing almost second fiddle between the court hearings. James Franco does a fair job in a role that mostly requires him to recite poems to quite mesmerising looking music video style short films that I thought worked perfectly well. The fact that a series of poems needed to be brought to a court of law to decide whether or not to ban them from public circulation in a so-called free country to me is as utterly laughable as it is annoyingly true. And marks the fact that rich and powerful prudes even today still seem to have a say on things that don't concern their tiny, weak, and largely closed minds.

Pavan Bhat Howl, a movie entirely based on a poem written by Allan Ginsberg, one of the pioneers of the Beat Generation, with the same title, is one of the best examples that highlights freedom of expression, aggression due to social taboos, a writer's creative freedom and the problems associated with it and the consequences that a writer or a creator of a creative work has to face if he/she took refuge in the fact that creative freedom and freedom of expression are to be taken for granted. This has always been the major cause for concern for so-called unconventional writers. It is quite clear that mainstream writing has been reduced to a medium wherein the writer is merely forced to cater to the needs of the "reader" with conservative outlooks, as it has been for ages, instead of how it should actually be, i.e. a writer speaking his heart out. Of course, we have come across many such incidents in the past, and have also witnessed the writer's names not only fade into the depths of oblivion but also getting erased from all records and pages in the history books. Their identities and very existences have been questioned and debated for doing what they believed in and doing what they loved doing. In spite of the fact that certain works had literary quality, such works were the eyesores for certain conservative readers, yet the cynosure of all eyes for few others. Allan Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems was a direct reflection of his upbringing in a society strapped with moral, social, cultural and religious taboos. Writing was a merely a medium to vent his frustration and anger towards a society that treats its own people as aliens or outsiders. His works, especially Howl looks at the very same aspect of life with a magnifying glass. His homosexual tendencies, his world view of life's happenings and other views expressed in his poems put the state of mind of the writer under the scanner, as it was evident from the clear disregard of the writer towards the needs of the readers and placing his own manifestations of thoughts ahead of all else, which is very important for any writer to represent any true work with a degree of authenticity. Talking about the movie in particular, the movie has been handled with utmost care. The director of the movie has taken good measures to ensure that the legacy of Allan Ginsberg lives on, whilst providing cues to other such similar or upcoming unconventional writers to come out of their shells. What makes it more special is the fact that conservatism was at its peak in the 1950s and that was exactly when Allan Ginsberg made his works public. This served as an inspiration to millions of non-conservationists who were trying really hard to express themselves and emerge out of their cocoons to stand against people who opposed radical changes. The Hippie culture, censorship in movies, inter-racial romance and many other taboos in the 1950s took the driving seat for most part of the 1960s and has since stayed strongly with us. The taboos of the 50s or until the 60s, finally gained a moral victory over the so-called conservationists, thereby opening up a plethora of new ideas to think, debate, analyze and ponder about. This sudden change also influenced the way people started thinking, the various cultures and a bevy of other organized structures. Howl and other poems was a major and prominent part of the victors' side. Freedom of expression, creative freedom, emerging out of one's "moral" shell and various other aspects that were previously considered to be taboo derived new-found meanings which facilitated more and more creative works of literature and art to be created and made public, which surprisingly found many takers from the opposite camp as well... This evoked a sense of awakening in the minds of the people to open up to a playground of unheard ideas and thoughts. The brainchild of imagination was the surreal movement, which started gathering momentum in the 1970s. Interconnected threads – Allan Ginsberg's life experiences and the way it is received by the readers and the society as a whole, and how a candid interpretation of a writer is blown out of proportion and dramatized forms the core of the movie. It also has its share of animated sequences with a hint of surreal treatment, probably to suggest the fact that imagination is like an open field where anyone can achieve anything and infinite dreams can be realized. The crux of Allan Ginsberg's Howl and other poems has been replicated with intricate detailing and juxtapositions of contrasting thoughts of the readers who testify for and against the writer at the obscenity trial. On a biopic-style ending point of view, Allan Ginsberg's life has been documented in facts on screen. There is an almost surreal treatment to the film, with the animated sequences in perfect amalgamation with certain key elements in Allan Ginsberg's life, or to be precise, one particular incident in his life of major significance, Howl and its almost ridiculous and astounding obscenity trial. The film and the book, in particular, was certainly an eyeopener to many a people in terms of its literary treatment and gave heart- felt writing a whole new meaning and dimension.

Jackson Booth-Millard I had heard that Daniel Radcliffe was going to play young gay poet Allen Ginsberg in his next film Kill Your Darlings, and when I found out that this film was about him, and his most celebrated but also controversial poem, I was intrigued to see what it would be like. Basically, set in 1957, San Francisco, the film examines the poem "Howl" being the focus of an obscenity trial, for it's frequent use of graphic language and references to homosexual, we also see the poem writer Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) interviewed, he was not afraid to admit his homosexuality, and his thoughts behind it, and throughout he reads extracts of the poem with animation illustrating the words. Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Andrew Rogers) as the publisher of the poem was the man on trial more than Ginsberg himself, prosecuting attorney Ralph McIntosh (David Strathairn) wants to justification as to why the poem was aloud to be published, and gets opinions literary experts, including literary critic/book editor Luther Nichols (Alessandro Nivola) and Professor David Kirk (Jeff Daniels), to defend it's credibility. In society "Howl" has become a literary revolution, part of the San Francisco Renaissance and a cultural phenomenon, and throughout the film passages from the poem accompanied by surreal animation of all sorts, computer animated and hand drawn to interpret, this only adds to the non-linear film construction, mixing 1940's and 1950's historical fact and a variety of other cinematic techniques. Of course young Ginsberg is seen throughout the film as well, mostly in black and white during his early interviews about his poetry and other literary work, doing public readings, including from "Howl", and his personal experiences of homosexuality and some struggles, that gave him the confidence to express himself, Ginsberg was not afraid to write whatever he wanted and created a literary masterpiece. Also starring Jon Hamm as Jake Ehrlich, Bob Balaban as Judge Clayton Horn, Mary-Louise Parker as Gail Potter, Treat Williams as Mark Schorer, Todd Rotondi as Jack Kerouac and Jon Prescott as Neal Cassady. I can see what the critics mean that the often laughable animation by street artist Eric Drooker maybe overshadows the sequences of Ginsberg and the courtroom scenes, but I don't think this is the case, it is certainly experimental the editing, but you definitely appreciate the subtle but interesting performance by Franco as young Ginsberg, I don't think this is the type of film I would see more than once, but it was an interesting drama based on a true story. Worth watching, at least once!

viro-indovina In cinema the adage, "show don't tell", is inviolable. But if the subject of a film is a great poem and its creator, then "tell mama...tell mama all". Can you dig it? Can you get down on the rug that has been cut by angel headed hipsters, stained with coffee and seed, dusty from the hobo excursions to grand old hotels, from whose lobbies poured forth an Eldorado of silver plate, out of your seat, out of your mind, onto the mid afternoon asphalt, searching blindly amidst the broken glass, the blood and brown streaks, desperately searching for clearer vision?If you can, then I think that you will enjoy this brilliant movie.Howl is possibly the best biography cum literary movie I have ever seen.For me, part of its genius is in the editing of its three-part structure: a relaxed interview with Allen Ginsberg in his apartment; the obscenity trial of Laurence Ferlinghetti for publishing Ginsberg's poem, Howl; and Ginsberg's premier reading of this controversial poem to a significant and appreciative crowd illustrated with dazzling animated sequences.Cinematic depictions of poets, real or fictitious, seldom permit them to speak so clearly and insightfully about their creative processes, their motivations, and their innermost feelings as does Howl. In answering the unseen and unheard interviewer James Franco does a startling job of losing himself in the role of Allen Ginsberg. These casual scenes, beautifully staged and shot, provide not only a fascinating look into the mind of a poet, but into the heart and soul of a complex and genuine genius of American literature. The character arc that so many story-smiths will demand is artfully traced in these confessional and contemplative monologues that show us how Allen Ginsberg conceived not only his poem Howl, but a fuller understanding and acceptance of himself. These anecdotes and wan remembrances are recreated through flashbacks and montages that widen the cinematic range of this movie. Whilst hearing Ginsberg narrate the importance of family and friends to his self growth and self acceptance, we get to actually see him with Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassidy, and Peter Orlofsky. Some people rail against voice over narration, calling it a crutch, but it feels right in this context and never obfuscates what is being shown on the layer below. Perhaps this is helped by the tone that Franco as Ginsberg so evokes? Sensitive, yes; BS, no. The movie pays scrupulous attention to period detail, allowing the filmmakers to seamlessly insert archival footage that broadens the narrative of each scene. The fly-on- the-wall moments will undoubtedly be too few for fans of Ginsberg the celebrity, and for acolytes in the cult of celebrity. But it is the other two parts of this cinematic triptych that prove why Ginsberg's reputation was sealed by Howl and the controversy surrounding it. Firstly, the poem is a great work of art. Secondly, it was a crucible for a cultural reawakening and reassessment of values. The poem captures a moment in time as seen through the distorting lens of overwhelming emotions and flies so close to the sun that it acutely catches fire and falls back to earth in colorful flames, reviving itself like a phoenix of phrases and meaning. Franco's poetry reading scenes are way better than just a bit of slam vamping. He convincingly performs as the poem's creator, showing in every line the insights of feeling and knowing that this position would offer. As if this weren't enough, the film makers have enlisted the talents of an animator who actually worked with Ginsberg previously. The use of animated sequences during the reading of Howl may rob some people of a sense of agency; of their right to create images and interpretations for themselves. I've heard the same arguments about music videos. To these critics my reply is merely to close your eyes. The animations are successful as visual metaphors, illustrating with varied styles but recurring motifs a poem that deals with the banal as well as the mystical. Audiences become normalized, and these animations would be better received if more people were able to reject their conditioning and let these fantasies play out before their eyes in all their surreal majesty. In the third section of this movie, the anodyne culture that Ginsberg and his fellow travelers on the road-less-traveled were responding to is treated with equal verisimilitude, forensically displayed in the obscenity trial scenes; some of the best courtroom drama ever. Every character is perfectly inhabited by the stellar cast. The scenes deeply convey the gravity commensurate to those arguing for, or against, freedom of speech. This section shows the folly of trying to define and delimit artistic expression, and validates the importance of protecting expression in order to allow individuals and members of a free society to heal themselves and to better understand themselves.This movie is challenging on many levels, but if given a chance, it is rewarding on many levels as well.