FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Those that have heard of Klaus Nomi don’t need to be told that he epitomized New Wave. He came to the United States from Germany and found himself immersed with the budding new sub culture that was developing in New York during the late 1970s/early 1980s. After a fateful performance as part of a vaudevillian variety show, he quickly gained popularity and ego. Klaus went on to release two albums that showcased his flawlessly operatic falsetto singing voice, burning most of his bridges along the way. This is his story, told by the people who knew him best.

Unlike Nomi himself, this documentary is actually quite ordinary. Mixed in with the talking heads is a lot of archival footage and taped performances; all of it presented in an extremely standard, straightforward manner. Each interviewee is given their own representative background, which is a nice touch. These backgrounds tell you a little bit about their personal history with Klaus as the people in front of them relate their stories and flesh out all the intricate details. Everyone does a great collective job of describing the life style and what it meant to be around NYC and Klaus at that time, but not every little piece of the puzzle is filled in. I wish they had said how Klaus chose the last name of Nomi (he was born with the surname of Sperber). It’s pretty astounding that all of these people can remember the events of twenty something years past so vividly, which leads me to believe they were prompted in one way or another. You rarely see the subjects struggle to come up with a word or phrase to describe what took place. They all speak extremely succinctly and almost all of them could easily act as a narrator. It works, but it’s off-putting and takes away from the reminiscing feel these stories should have.

The collection of archived material is not only massive, but also seemingly comprehensive. We’re treated to early interviews with Klaus, without make-up and later ones where he’s submerged in his character. There are plenty of performances recorded for prosperity, and in fact, they don’t mention one unless they have the tape to back it up. Each one has a significant purpose and marks a certain turning point in his career – a statement that seems like it’d be hard to believe, but actually comes off not only as plausible, but verified. The biggest complaint with all of the music we hear and all the performances we see is that they’re incomplete. Too often, the songs get cut off in favor of more interviewee storytelling/analysis. It wouldn’t be so bad if the music faded away or continued on into the background. Instead, we get into the song and find ourselves drawn into Klaus’ performance, finally understanding the appeal and the connection he had with his audiences only to have the whole situation ripped away as quick as a snap of the fingers. Why not just let the song finish if you’re going to play a minute and a half. The movie could have used a couple full performances.

Despite these relatively small flaws, the documentary is quite interesting. It would have been great if the director would have expressed himself more and really played around with the New Wave look and feel with this picture, rather than just assuming that’s something that should be relegated to the past. But still, even if you know nothing about Nomi or New Wave, you can easily appreciate and enjoy the great stories that are told. The story follows a pretty basic “Behind the Music” structure, but instead of watching a train wreck, you get somewhat emotionally involved. It’s not hard to be fascinated by this guy, and you’ll quickly feel like part of their crowd as you laugh along with the funny stories. So, in the end, even if you never heard of Klaus Nomi before, there’s sadness and disappointment that he’s not around anymore.

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