Hedwig GIUSTO

Senior Research Fellow and Editor in Chief of the Progressive Post

by John Cameron Mitchell
USA, 2001

Given my somewhat unusual name, Hedwig, I confess to a particular fascination with films whose characters share it. It is a short, exclusive list. Beyond Harry Potter’s owl, there is also another prominent Hedwig: the chilling wife of the Auschwitz commandant in The Zone of Interest.

However, I know a third movie that features a quite different Hedwig. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the film adaptation of the off-Broadway punk rock musical. Written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, and starring him too, it is a cult film for the LGBTIQ+ community. Less well-known than the Rocky Horror Picture Show, it is no less disruptive, enthralling, eccentric and ironic. 

Hedwig revolves around the life of Hansel, a young gay man who, out of love and a desire to escape the East Berlin of the Cold War (ironically, just one year before the wall fell), is persuaded by his lover and his mother to change sex, becoming – after botched surgery – Hedwig. Alone in the US, Hedwig embarks on the search for love, facing crushing abandonment while striving for rock stardom and a deeper understanding of their true self. Hedwig is a compelling story about the search for one’s identity, a quest to define oneself beyond the confines of social norms and expectations. Like Berlin, Hedwig is divided into two: “between East and West, slavery and freedom, man and woman”. However, just as the Berlin Wall eventually fell, so does Hedwig’s self-constructed image. 

One of the film’s most heart-wrenching and unforgettable songs, “The Origin of Love”, features Aristophanes’ myth from Plato’s Symposium. This describes how there were originally three sexes (male, female and androgynous), and humans were beings with two sets of everything (heads, genitals and limbs) who were split in two by Zeus to punish their arrogance. Love is therefore nothing but the desire to reunite with one’s other half, our soulmate. 

Hedwig’s profound inner conflict stops when they understand their wholeness. Through every transformation – from man to woman, lover to wife, sex worker to queer icon, and finally to a rockstar – Hedwig eventually accepts who they are, embracing all their contradictions and triumphant entirety. 

Both the musical and the film are revolutionary. They do not just explore gender but move beyond rigid definitions to break boundaries and become champions of a simple but beautiful message: being one’s true self without explanation or apology. This powerful universal narrative is delivered with an irresistible soundtrack that shifts from raw, angry punk rock songs to tender, moving ballads. For me, the profound message and the incredible songs resonated deeply. They have remained with me since I first watched the film over 20 years ago.