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Synopsis

Julien is a young man who works as an attendant at a school for the blind, and lives in New Jersey as part of a disturbed and dysfunctional family. Julien himself is schizophrenic; as the story begins he has befriended a young boy in some woods, only to batter him to death in an impulsive act. His sister, Pearl, is pregnant; his father is abusive and tyrannical, given to outrageous behaviour in the family home. Julien’s brother, Chris, an aspiring wrestler, and Julien’s grandmother complete the family. As the story unfolds it becomes clear that Julien’s illness and his disturbing family life will lead to tragedy. –BFI

Director

Original

Harmony Korine

Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973) is a US film director and writer. He first appeared in the public’s eye as the author of film director Larry Clark’s debut, Kids, a tale of irresponsible teenagers in New York which garnered rave reviews but was literally unable to be seen by the intended audience due to the NC-17 / unrated rating.

Following the success of that Harmony directed and co-produced Gummo, another unique story loosely based around the premise of aspects of life in Xenia, Ohio, post-tornado (although most of it was not filmed there). Harmony cast himself in the film, which features very unusual / disturbing images (bacon on the walls, deaf people arguing, delinquent children) in a bit part as a shy gay teenager. He also had a cameo in Kids as a clubgoer. His sometimes girlfriend, actress Chloë Sevigny (who first appeared in Kids) was perhaps the most well-known star in an otherwise largely non-actors movie.

Mr. Korine followed this movie with another one… read more

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Ryan M.

13Oct11

We are unable to ignore Korine's style which is quite impressive and inventive, but I had an issue trying to establish consistent substance. I did admire the fact that the film obtained a tenderness over time but I can't help but feel like Korine is an immature filmmaker trying to make mature films. I am still glad this film exists, it is progressive and would have made a remarkable short film.

Jesse Taylor likes this

kaidan

18Jul11

A disturbing look into the life of an adult schizophrenic, and the effects it has on his family.

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skiptracer

31May11

Werner Herzog's performance was almost the only redeeming feature of this film for me, although Korine's camera work is often really, really beautiful.

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Brian Campbell

31May11

Beautifully shot, fully original. This intimidating and bizarre work of art is, to me, a masterpiece. Pearl is a perfect person and her tragedy was harder for me to watch than anything in any Hollywood movie. This film is twisted like its director yet totally mesmerizing. Love it.

Colton Bose likes this

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Movie Poster of the Week: "Gummo"

By Adrian Curry on September 18, 2009

Say what you will about Harmony Korine's films, but his posters are something else. If his cinematic output can be criticized as formless

read article

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Reviews

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Untitled

By trelk on July 22, 2009

The first time I saw Julien Donkey Boy I had been drinking, smoking marijuana and taking prescription opiates. Certainly not the smartest thing to do watching a film or otherwise. I was a big fan…  read review

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Korine's Julien Donkey-Boy on DVD

10 posts by 5 people about 1 year ago