Hedwig And The Angry Inch

John Cameron Mitchell, USA, 2001, 95 minutes

It's rare that one sees the touching story of a botched sex change operation brought to the screen with such obvious enthusiasm and - let's just admit it - glamour. John Cameron Mitchell — author, director and star — must be some kind of dark genius, as he seems to have managed to combine the sensibilities of Oscar Wilde, John Waters, and Deborah Harry in a single character: Hedwig.

While the film unabashedly charts the darkest depths of camp — the hair dress is something else — it also manages to address the nature of love, growing up gay and transgendered, the fall of communism, and the cultural evolution of rock music. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it's better than Rent.

Review by Sarah Artt
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2003