Lydia Lunch: The war is never over

Beth B’s ambitious documentary, “Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over” tackles the tumultuous life, mission, and inner depths of the notorious Lydia Lunch.

Lunch is a celebrated figure of anti-punk and artistic nonconformity. Her 40-year career however, is somewhat shadowed by her musical descendants by modern audiences, often pigeonholed by the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s for which she paved the way.

At times the film is much like Lydia herself: unapologetic, forceful, and full of purpose as she, band mates and colleagues discuss her development as both a woman and performer. Her role as a frontal figure of the No Wave genre, a deeply experimental and psychological branch of music adjacent to punk and goth in the ’70s, smoothly transitions the conversation from that of musical style to character, wherein the fearless declaration of her trauma and sexuality are conversed so boldly one cannot help but feel a deep and sorrowful admiration.

At the core of the film is Lydia’s art; her spoken word, her music, her pornography, all driven by the insidious and “homicidal” urges ignited by her childhood abuse. Her aesthetic, perhaps her identity, revolves entirely about it: managing it, using it, expressing it, and even laughing about it. Her many acquaintances regard her much as we do. We are left in awe, questioning ourselves and our values, but much like admiring a predatory animal, much larger and powerful than ourselves, we are also weary and disturbed by its natural power.

Many of its sequences, as beautiful as they are harrowing, are designed as assaults on the expectations and nightmares we have been programmed to ignore and conceal. Lydia’s brilliance as a wordsmith, as a calculating and razor sharp warrior for awareness and feminine power, is embodied in this short, biting documentary about the artist and her voice with all the love and honesty that she is due. 

“Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over” can be viewed on various streaming services, including Apple TV and Vudu. For the sexual abuse of children, sexual adult situations and trauma, viewer discretion is strongly advised.