Harmony Korine - Julien Donkey Boy

"Julien donkey-boy" is the counterpart to "Gummo", particularly in Korine's choice of main character. Harmony Korine has given life to Julien, an adult who expresses himself like a child and approaches the solution to his problems in a childlike way. This disorients our relationship with him in much the same way as our revulsion at the fake adult behavior of the kids in "Gummo".

"Julien donkey-boy" stars Ewen Bremner (Spud in Trainspotting), a schizophrenic who lives somewhere on Long Island in a particularly dumpy family. His father, played by Werner Herzog, is a depressive widower who regularly wears a gas mask. He listens to Clarence Ashley's "Coo Coo Bird" and drinks cough syrup in search of a natural high. Julien's younger brother spends most of his days rehearsing Greco-Roman wrestling moves, directed by his father who wants to make him the family's top fighter. The grandmother (played by Joyce Korine herself) plays with her little white poodle. The only person who seems to care about Julien is his sister, played by Chloë Sevigny. A soothing, maternal figure, she prepares for the birth of her baby by choosing the layette.

Julien goes through life confused and disoriented, just as we go through the film. Elements that are probably "key" - as they might be in a traditional narrative - are quickly abandoned in favor of others, seemingly insignificant, that are scrutinized, explored to the point of chaos. From this chaos, however, a story is born, barely revealed, in a mode that is both anodyne and unashamed.

Harmony Korine was born in Bolinas, California, and grew up in Nashville and New York. Writer, director, actor and artist, Harmony Korine discovered Godard and Bresson at the age of 10 in the depths of Tennessee, guided by a Trotskyist father and cinephile. At 18, he wrote the screenplay for "Kids" at the request of Larry Clark, whom he met in a park (1995). In 1997, he directed "Gummo", his first feature film, presented at Venice's International Critics' Week. In 1998 he published his first novel 'A Crack-Up at the Race Riots'. His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries.

FILMS
Julien Donkey Boy 1999 - 94 min
BONUS: 2 deleted scenes (7 minutes) making of original trailer