Get Your Reps In: “Swan Song” Is a Worthy Sendoff for Udo Kier

Swan Song (2021)

Swan Song isn’t the final screen appearance of cult acting icon Udo Kier, who died last November. (In fact, Kier has an affecting bit part in the new Brazilian period piece The Secret Agent this very awards season.) But the 2021 independent dramedy was perhaps his best, last showcase—and a justly deserved one.

Screening Jan. 9 at Clinton Street Theater, Swan Song memorializes Kier’s otherworldly watchability. He plays Pat, a beautician called out of retirement to style a deceased former client for her wake. To take the job, he must hoof it dozens of miles across rural Ohio. Every gesture captivates: Pat’s labored but proud gait on the roadside, the roughly 100 More cigarettes he ignites, Kier’s impossibly watery stare washing over every other character’s face.

Kier’s career was defined not only by his prolific output (220-plus screen credits) but also by his superb taste in both high art and hot trash. He worked with directors ranging from Rainer Werner Fassbinder to Werner Herzog, Rob Zombie and Gus Van Sant on My Own Private Idaho. Coincidentally, the Kier movie that launched his cult stardom, Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) plays at the Academy Theater this same week.

The Clinton screening is hosted by Portland filmmaker and former WW contributor Thom Hilton, who had a small role in Swan Song alongside Kier, and promises to bring photos and set stories to the event. Clinton, Jan. 9.

Also Playing:

5th Avenue: Saving Face (2004), Jan. 9–11. Academy: The Matrix (1999), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Jawbreaker (1999), Jan. 7–8. Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982), Starman (1984) and Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), Jan. 9–15. Cinema 21: Saboteur (1942), Jan. 10. Cinemagic: Cube (1997), Jan. 9. Clinton: Zoot Suit (1981), Jan. 10. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Jan. 10. The Last Waltz (1978), Jan. 13. Cult Classics: Altered States (1980), Jan. 11. Hollywood: XXX (2002), Jan. 7. Baahubali: The Epic (2025) and Party Monster (2003), Jan. 10. Mazinkaizer SKL (2010), Jan. 11. Dr. Strangelove (1964), Jan. 12. Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986), Jan. 13. Tomorrow: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), Jan. 9. The Perfect Neighbor (2025), Swing Girls (2004) and Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman (2012), Jan. 10. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), Jan. 11.