The Nomi Song

The late Klaus Nomi was an otherworldly presence, a cold wave of futurist pop with an operatic falsetto and extraterrestrial demeanor. Today he’s remembered for two eccentric LPs, an appearance in Urgh! A Music War, and as a sad footnote in pop-music history; Klaus died in 1983, one of the first public personalities to succumb to AIDS. The Nomi Song documents his brief career from New Wave vaudeville hoots to international recording infamy, taking a tour of New York’s punk-era bohemia along the way. Director Andrew Horn crafts a highly watchable picture out of archival elements that aren’t always pristine, but the volume of Nomi-related media uncovered is impressive. Still, Nomi remains an enigma throughout, a strange, impenetrable surface. The emotional heart of the film beats during interviews with former friends and collaborators who recall early triumphs, eventual betrayals and final regrets with nostalgia and bitterness.