Music Icon Strikes a Strange but Fervent Chord

Passions Just Like Mine, a documentary about Latino music fans whose lives have been transformed by the words, music and lifestyle of British pop star Morrissey, receives a screening Wednesday in the UT Dallas Cinematheque film series.

A discussion with director Kerri Koch follows the free showing at 7:30 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall.

Passions Just Like Mine offers a stirring glimpse into how one’s course in life can be changed by a total stranger with seemingly no cultural similarities. Koch’s film, whose title is taken from a Morrissey song lyric, attempts to lovingly capture the strange but spiritual connection these young men and women have to the poetic lyricism of an aging rock icon.

More Online • Film Trailer • Video Association of Dallas

The fans tell their own stories, providing powerful portraits of their obsession and transformative journeys. In many cases, they are not only avid listeners but also adopters of Morrissey’s trademark dress style and pompadour hairstyle.

Passions Just Like Mine creates a window into a world where an 18-year-old Mexican immigrant can become obsessed with a 45-year-old man he’s never known, and even more profoundly, that this same young person is anything but alone.

Music film fans may know Koch from her previous work, Don’t Need You, which
documented the in-your-face, all-woman “riot grrl” rock bands of the 1990s.

The UT Dallas Cinematheque is a joint effort involving SUAAB, The Video Association of Dallas and the School of Arts & Humanities. Moderating the Q&A session will be Bart Weiss, creative director of the Video Association of Dallas and a UT Arlington film studies professor.

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