It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society's reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.

CAST AND CREW

Alessandro Nivola David Strathairn James Franco Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Friedman Jon Hamm Mary-Louise Parker Rob Epstein Treat Williams

GENRE

Drama

CERTIFICATE

Contains strong language, once very strong, and strong sex references

RUN TIME

1 hour 24 minutes

RELEASED

2011