Julien Donkey-Boy

source: Julien Donkey-Boy

There is a line that separates two types of independent art-house films often misconstrued as one. One side of the line is populated by films that are inventive and disturbingly stimulating of emotions, usually a completely * display of unpleasant things and people. The other side is comprised of films that are shocking, repulsive, and generally don't move forward with their stories, instead shuffling sustained sequences where virtually nothing changes, shapelessly finding its way to the end of the movie. julien donkey-boy could either be lying perfectly upon this line between both types of films, or it could be the latter type. Usually, the latter type can be very basically and degradingly entertaining, voyeuristically tempting you to continue watching its stylistic repugnance. A bigger part of me likes julien donkey-boy. A smaller part of me doesn't. The part of me that likes it is fond of the gritty, demented use of the camera. The film's setting, a trashy, lower middle class environment full of generally unhealthy and unattractive people, is appropriate for Anthony Dod Mantle's bleak, very very grainy and unglamorous lens. Upon reflection, I realize that the film was really trying to say something, but the part of me that doesn't like it tells me that it's too immediately unclear and abstract to be fully understood. The film's unabashed, possibly record-setting weirdness could be neither a plus or minus, and rather something meant to challenge the viewer, to make us reflect on the judgmental perspective that keeps many from understanding films like these and characters like those that are in it. So I suppose the verdict is that it's a good movie, but for a rare and acquired taste.

Every so often a "new style of cinema" comes along that is totally original and innovative and which can influence a horde of followers and imitators. Julien Donkey-Boy is Harmony Korine's attempt to follow in the footsteps of filmmakers Vinterburg and Von Triers and make a film according to the guidelines they set in their "Dogme '95". However, while this approach served a film like Vinterburg's "Festen" incredibly well by giving a sense of reality to the narrative through improvisation and the use of hand-held camera, in this film the Dogme guidelines are used for very self-indulgent purposes (e.g. the over-use of Herzog's improvisational turns and the dead fetus theft incident at the end of the film, which has no moral purpose or message but is used, IMO, as a means of mimicking the "bad taste" elements of the previous Dogme films "The Idiots" and "Festen"). The narrative is also not very coherent, with many inconsequential and unnecessary scenes (e.g. the therapy-session and the "Foot drummer" scenes). As a result, this film comes off as a cheap imitation of the previous Dogme films; more obsessed with style than the accompanying narrative. To add insult to injury, Julien Donkey-Boy is also one in a long line of films that gives a completely inaccurate portrayal of a person suffering from the psychological disorder schizophrenia (other examples: Me, Myself and Irene, The Cell......). Although this may sound like a nitpicking point for film buffs (since accurate portrayal does not necessarily equate to a great film), the problem with the inaccurate portrayal in this case is that the central character (Julien Donkey-Boy) is reduced to a series of mannerisms performed by Ewen Bremner. The result of this reductionist approach to the central character means that the audience never really gets to grips with the character and can never truly understand what is going on inside his mind; instead we get an actorly mimic of a genuinely schizophrenic person (apparently, this character was modeled on Korine's uncle). To conclude, this film is, IMO, a gross example of style over content with many examples of bad taste and self-indulgence.

I think there might be spoilers in here, if you want to call them that. I could somewhat comprehend KIDS. I cringed with disgust at Gummo but could kind of understand the appeal. Julien Donkey-boy is ugly looking sleazy gibberish. Ewen Bremner, who I believe is a great actor, plays an adolescent schizophrenic according to the synopsis. I've never seen an adolescent with crow's feet, a 5 o'clock shadow and a bald spot. As usual in Korine's films, there are a couple of actual actors, mixed with a bunch of handicapped people and plenty of weirdos. It appears that Harmony filmed it with good equipment, then gathered all the film, swallowed it, digested it and then pooped it out and started the editing process. I don't care how artsy or brave it was to film it with a handheld video camera, it looks and sounds like crap. Period. If his goal is to make people feel disgusted and uncomfortable, I guess he's accomplished that. If that baby was going to be anything like any of the characters in the film, Chloe did the world a favor by falling on the ice rink. If you're a fan, there's plenty of incest, word-slurring and scummy people just for you. Even a guy with no arms who plays drums. What Harmony Korine film would be complete without someone missing lims. The only thing this terrible film taught me is that black albinos exist.

Do not expect to be entertained, and do not expect to be overwhelmed by the aesthetic of this film. Julien Donkey Boy is no more beautiful than its subject. Harmony Korine, in directing and writing this film, has done exactly what he set out to do - he has created a concentrated dose of family life with schizophrenia. In saying that the experience is concentrated, what I mean is that the film uses exaggeration rather liberally in order to condense its somewhat impossibly defined subject matter. Although there are certainly interwoven story arcs for the main characters, there is no central plot, no linearity, no unfragmented reality. The film itself, therefore, is just a little unhinged. One of my older sisters was schizophrenic. You would have to condense a couple decades worth of her psychotic episodes into a couple of hours to get anywhere near the level of constant distress that is depicted in this film. I most closely related to the character of Pearl, Julien's pregnant sister, but recognized aspects of my own family in all of the characters. What I am trying to say is that there is certainly some truth to what this movie says and the archetypal characters portrayed, its truth may be hard to recognize if you haven't lived through it. Living with a schizophrenic will bring out and amplify your own nature - and if you are open to it, you will be a better person. It is also, however, fairly easy to allow the experience to overwhelm you. People who have never been exposed to schizophrenia in any but a superficial way will find most of the film's characters and vignettes very difficult to believe. I am pretty sure Korine knew this going in. Korine has portrayed schizophrenia in a sensitive and truthful, but nevertheless utterly disturbing and somewhat unrealistically condensed way. Every directorial decision is meant to create a sense of realism. The method is very effective, and the film is essentially successful. Julien intentionally and clearly positions its audience as voyeurs, using hand-held photography almost exclusively and allowing character- development (the bulk of the film) to dictate the pace and rhythm of every scene. All of the acting is superb, and although there are very few feel-good moments in this film, it may be somewhat cathartic for folks like me, and somewhat (painfully) enlightening for those who grew up in less dysfunctional, or more-traditionally dysfunctional, families.

Harmony Korine is about the biggest joke to be played on hipsters in years. Less a director than a catch phrase for those in the know, his movies are exercises in practising the worst tendencies of the cinematic fringe. His movies thrive on bad taste and the underbelly of society, but do so without the benefit of John Waters' sense of humor. They are paced so sluggishly as to be completely lacking in narrative movement, yet they are without the mesmerizing subtext and hypnotic feel of Werner Herzog (why Herzog agreed to play a part in this film I will never understand). They revel in unusual looks, from odd lighting to alternate film stocks and even video, yet he lacks the painterly framing ability of a Kubrick, Gilliam or Kurasawa that might actually make his experiments in texture actually INTERESTING and not just an exercise. In the DVD version of Julien, Korine praises the aesthetic of video, as if the cold, flat, lifeless picture was something to strive for. It's a cop-out, and the easy, cheap cop-out at that. One can make film cold and dank without making it boring and lifeless, which is the essense of video and low-end DV. Julien Donkey-boy brings to us the worst of all these attributes. The icing on the cake is the much publicized fight of Korine to gain Dogme certification, which is laughable, since from the first scene he flagrantly flaunts the rules of the system. I have mixed personal feelings about Dogme in general, but if you're going to try to get the certification, play by the rules. His use of non-environmental music, use of video rather than 35mm (transferred eventually to Academy 35 in the end to conform to the rule, but obviously violating the spirit), and use of superficial action (murder is mentioned specifically in the vow of chastity, and I'd say incest counts as well) all are flagrant violations. For a long time, Dogme didn't even list Julien on their website, and early on, there was no certificate displayed with the film. Presumably to bank on Korine's (somewhat) marketable and recognizable name, they caved and issued a vague press release about how the film seemed to them to conform to the standards, along with some odd and seeminly non-sequitor comment on the process of signing the certificate. Whatever. I gave up on trying to figure out exactly what is was that makes Von Trier and his misogynist boy's club tick quite a long time ago. Julien Donkey-boy is an exercise in futility for the viewer, as is Korine's career up to this point, aside from the compelling narrative force he gave to his script for KIDS. Here's to hoping he can remember how to tell a story a little less self-consciously in the future.

I have read a lot of comments calling this film "Art", actually recommending it. There is no "Art" to be found in Julien, just a dizzying waste of my time. The camera work and sound make it pretty much unwatchable, I felt sick at times watching it on a big screen. I get that Harmony Korine did this on purpose to have us feel disorientated, like Julien feels all the time, but he takes it way to far and created a horrible looking mess. I liked Gummo, it was one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen, so I was very much looking forward to Julien Donkey-Boy, I was very disappointed. If Julien Donkey-Boy is what is passing for "Art" these days, I am out of touch with society. Everyone who thought this film was actually good, try watching it sober and without the drugs. Hopefully Harmony will get off the smack too when and if he makes another film. Art or complete crap? If it smells and looks like crap, it probably is crap. At the very best it is extremely crappy art.

I thought 'Gummo' was a pretentious, self-indulgent mess, and one of the worst movies I'd ever seen. That was until I'd watched Harmony Korine's awful follow-up 'Julien Donkey-Boy', which is not only even MORE tedious and aesthetically displeasing, but phony as well. Korine doesn't bother with character development, plot, structure, memorable dialogue, or anything else people usually value in film, but because he presents it "from the perspective of a schizophrenic" that is supposed to make this formless drivel some kinda major artistic statement. I'm sorry, that's not good enough. This movie offers absolutely NO INSIGHT into mental illness whatsoever. The sad thing is that because the majority of movie fans these days are idiots and most Hollywood blockbusters suck, too many people are bending over backwards praising Korine's equally worthless "product". Just because something isn't 'Independence Day 2' doesn't mean it's good, folks. There are many different kinds of bad movies, and 'Julien Donkey-Boy' is a bad movie whichever way you look at it.

I must not be smart enough to appreciate this movie. I loved Gummo, however, (the director's previous attempt) but this one slipt past me somehow. It's supposed to be one of those artsy-fartsy movies from the Dogme '95 schools, which I only just now learned about. That means something like you can only use the props you find at the site of filming, use only available light, and the director cannot be credited, among other things. After seeing "Julien Donkey Boy" I can understand why the director isn't credited. The movie's a mess. Don't know what the plot is, or if there's supposed to be one. Sitting through this movie was very difficult. A waste of time. But then, I guess those who loved it will just say I didn't get the point. Amen to that.

WARNING: THIS CRITICAL REVIEW GIVES AWAY ONE (1) RATHER INSIGNIFICANT STORY EVENT. Although Harmony Korine's latest film proudly flaunts its "Dogma 95" minimalist seal of approval, Korine has little else to be proud of with "julien donkey-boy," save for the fact that unsuspecting people are actually paying money to see it > Featuring the shakiest camera work since "The Blair Witch Project," the experimental, mostly improvised "julien" has even less of a coherent storyline and structure than Korine's last stink bomb, "Gummo." Yet the young writer/director is ever-insistent on grabbing the audience's attention with concepts that the general public finds vile (incest, transvestitism, etc.) and capitalizing on the insensitivity with which he gawks at the differently-abled individuals in his films (the often mentally-impaired and impoverished human oddities that pepper both films). My personal pick for the film's "funniest" moment is the scene in which Julien asks to recite a poem at the dinner table. His father interrupts, declaring, "I don't like that artsy-fartsy stuff." This is possibly the film's only moment of self-awareness and self-mockery. "julien" is, indeed, a prime example of that artsy-fartsy stuff, and it should serve as a reminder to us all: the words "original," "innovative," and "independent" do not always imply "good." It's unlikely that Harmony Korine will stop employing shock for shock's sake anytime soon, which is unfortunate, because that thrill leaves most art-house audience members during their teen years. However, I have faith that he is still capable of delivering another script on par with "Kids." If we get another "Gummo" or "julien," though, I'm giving up on him.