The opening scenes of the hit Broadway musical Passing Strange introduce us to a cliched story of a middle-class youth rebelling against both his religious upbringing and his nagging mother's draconian demands and expectations. In this case, "Youth" (Daniel Breaker), a product of 1970s South Central L.A., practices Buddhism, smokes pot with his choir mates and forms an amazingly untalented punk band. These painstaking early moments, peppered with the first — albeit least impressive — of a series of outstanding musical numbers, suggest that Passing Strange offers no more than what's required to qualify as standard bildungsroman. But fortunately, Spike Lee's filmed-musical version, Passing Strange: The Movie, expands in theme, in scope, and in sheer volume of creativity, taking viewers on a journey that spans decades, continents and music genres.

An on-film immortalization of the musical's final performance, Passing Strange offers a wider audience the chance to experience Mark "Stew" Stewart's semi-autobiographical stage show in candid, unfaltering detail. That most of the musical's incredible raw energy translates so flawlessly to film owes as much to Stew's boundless imaginativeness as to Lee's concert filmlike approach (there's even a tangible Stop Making Sense quality to the way Stew and his band initially walk out on a barren stage, only to have the on-stage happenings crescendo as the play progresses). We follow Youth as he explores bohemian pockets of Amsterdam and the revolutionary underbelly of Berlin, and as the songs evolve topically in tow with Youth's experiences, progressing seamlessly from one style of music to the next, Lee's camera is right up in the action, practically on the stage, providing the movie's audience a deep focus, both visually and thematically, of the story's endearing, heartbreaking and inspirational capacities.

The result is a sensory kaleidoscope that, excepting the movie's initial sequences, never leaves the audience bored. Passing Strange's smorgasbord of extraordinary music leaves little to be desired, and the film repeatedly introduces song/dance/performance numbers so enthralling that the prospect of having them last forever would not go unwelcomed. Something also must be said of the performances (three of which earned Tony nominations), which are flawless and dynamic to the point of making aspiring young actors want to throw in the towel. The pieces could not have fallen more perfectly into place. Passing Strange is worth its weight in repeat viewings. This is one of '09's best movies.

(Passing Strange: The Movie is now on DVD.)