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Movies / On DVD / The Nomi Song
The Nomi Song

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The Nomi Song (2005)

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Reviews Counted:36

Fresh:34

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: A fascinating, if occasionally frustrating, documentary about Klaus Nomi, a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene during the '80s.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Feb 4, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: He came from outer space to save the human race. Looks like an alien, sings like a diva - Klaus Nomi was one of 1980's most profoundly bizarre appearances. He was a cult figure in the New Wave... He came from outer space to save the human race. Looks like an alien, sings like a diva - Klaus Nomi was one of 1980's most profoundly bizarre appearances. He was a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences. He was a performer with a "look" so strong, that his first audiences went wild before he even opened his mouth. On the verge of international fame as a singer, he instead became one of the first prominent artists to die of AIDS. But the reaction Klaus Nomi provoked was so strong, that he is still unforgettable, even 20 years after his death. Nomi constructed his own myth out of elements so completely "wrong", yet so deliberate, that it all seemed oddly possible. He was an alien amongst the outcasts, a tortured soul who also radiated optimism at a time when optimism was "officially" out of fashion. He was as much a genuine talent as he was the engine of his own destruction. His appeal is not easy to explain in words. He has to be seen - and heard - to be believed. It is hard to limit this film to being called a documentary. It is rather a non-fiction film, maybe even an oral history. But it's also visual, partly because Nomi himself was so visual, someone who's main concern was putting forth an image of himself in everything he did - literally illustrated by the photos, films, videos and artworks that go with it. What unifies the various stylistic elements is Klaus Nomi himself, not only the all pervasive image he put out, but more importantly, his effect on others. It's a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him, loved him, felt pity for him or betrayed by him, yet above all, were inspired by him. The Nomi Song is a story of love of music and love of performing at a time when it seemed as though everyone was struck by a sense of urgency to make something - anything - simply because "somewhere in the great cosmic plan we all knew that we only had a finite amount of time together and we had to make the most of it." -- © Palm Pictures [More]

Starring: Ann Magnuson, Gabriele Lafari, David McDermott

Starring: Ann Magnuson, Gabriele Lafari, David McDermott

Director: Andrew Horn

Director: Andrew Horn
Studio: Palm Pictures

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Release:

Jun 14, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Nomi Song

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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It's a heartfelt tribute to a man who never felt loved enough.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
02/04/05
E! Online

Paints a vivid portrait of the sense of play and possibility that animated the best of the punk and new wave movements.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/20/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

While he was never a Top 40 hitmaker, Klaus Nomi was an important artist...and The Nomi Song is a cinematic anthem to his unorthodox individuality.

Full Review Source: DVD Verdict | comment Comment
07/31/05
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
DVD Verdict

His career was brief but well-documented and Andrew Horn's loving tribute includes several complete performances.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/24/05
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The German native's weirdness makes David Bowie (a Nomi admirer) look like Josh Groban, and the movie honors that by indulging in its own brand of effective strangeness.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
02/24/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Andrew Horn's film charts Nomi's remarkable rise, his brief cult fame and his untimely flameout in 1983 as one of the arts community's earliest AIDS fatalities.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
02/24/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Chronicles the short and haunting life of Klaus Sperber, a trained classical singer from Essen, Germany, who came to New York as a young man in the late 1970's.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
02/03/05
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
New York Times

A vivid portrait, not only of the man, but of an era, an era in which creativity ruled in a New York which, for all its vicissitudes, was far more welcoming to artists than it is now.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/24/05
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

A thorough if predictable Behind the Music episode.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
02/04/05
Debra Birnbaum
Debra Birnbaum
New York Post

Andrew Horn compellingly chronicles Ziggy-Stardust-cum-Dieter avant-gardist Klaus Nomi’s ability to tap into a missing link in the New York music scene.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
01/29/05
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Like most cult bios, this barely skims its subject's private life. Fortunately, there are copious clips of Nomi's mesmerizing performances.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
02/04/05
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

On the one hand, this is standard-issue autobio documentary filmmaking; on the other, with Klaus Nomi as the focus of our attention, all conventional notions (and notions of convention) are altogether burned away.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
02/03/05
Ernest Hardy
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly

Made with considerable wit and style, Horn's thoughtful celebration of the era and its most uncanny diva could function as the show's supplement.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
02/01/05
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This film expertly captures the scenesters' singular, blinding devotion to art at all costs, as well as their playful and communal attitudes.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
05/26/05
Jason Ferguson
Jason Ferguson
Orlando Weekly

Un documentaire qui rend justice à un personnage fascinant, mais dont on aurait tout de même voulu en savoir davantage

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
08/11/05
Jean-François Vandeuren
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama

The Nomi Song is pieced together from photos, performance footage, and talking-head interviews, but director Andew Horn has taken great care to fashion a strong story arc.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/03/05
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A well-made doc of a beyond-description music act that combined cabaret, operatic falsetto, and the stark minimalism of a cheesy 1940 sci-fi pic.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
06/26/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Horn, who knew Nomi, does an excellent job of evoking the exhilaratingly hedonistic period the film covers as well as the long shadow that the coming of AIDS casts over it.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/03/05
Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times

[S]trange and fascinating ... gives off a rich whiff of the New York punk bohemia of the late 1970s and early '80s.

Full Review Source: MTV | comment Comment
03/18/05
Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder
MTV

...one of the most compelling acts most people have never heard of

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/23/05
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews
 
 
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