Julien Donkey-Boy

1999 Drama

In his second directorial effort, writer/director Harmony Korine embraces the hyper-realist aesthetic of Lars Von Trier's Dogma 95 film movement, which mandates handheld photography using only available lighting, among other restrictions. As in the controversial Gummo (1997), Korine abandons traditional narrative for a series of vignettes about bizarre characters, in this case centered on Julien (Ewen Bremner), a schizophrenic who works in a school for the blind. Julien lives at home with his pregnant sister Pearl (Chloe Sevigny); his brother Chris (Evan Neumann), who wrestles in his spare time; and their violent father (Werner Herzog), who slaps his children around, hoses them down with water, and offers to pay Chris ten dollars to dress up in his late mother's clothes and dance. Eventually Julien escapes from his home and interacts with people on the street (some of whom, reportedly, were not professional actors and had no idea that Bremmer was an actor playing a scene). more..

Director: Harmony Korine

Starring: Ewen Bremner, Chloe Sevigny,Werner Herzog, Evan Neumann, Joyce Korine

Reviews

  • Korine remains unnecessarily smitten with sordidness, and there's plenty of it here.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    27 May 2013

  • It seems at first to be merely a jumble of discordant images ("Freaks" shot by the "Blair Witch" crew) but then, if you stay with it, the pattern emerges from the jumble.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 May 2013

  • Korine confirms his reputation as one of today's most experimentally minded filmmakers, helped by an inventive cast including German director Herzog in a surprisingly strong performance as the father.

    David Sterritt - Christian Science Monitor

    27 May 2013

  • At its best, it will impale you on its raw urgency. At other times, it's a slog through long improvisations that never achieve dramatic liftoff.

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    27 May 2013

  • In his quest to capture truth and honesty, (Korine) has made a movie that is practically impossible to like.

    Rene Rodriguez - Miami Herald

    27 May 2013

Awards

  • Anthony Dod Mantle

    Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (2000)

  • Harmony Korine

    Gijón International Film Festival (1999)

  • Best Cinematography

    Independent Spirit Awards (2000)

     
  • Harmony Korine

    Stockholm Film Festival (1999)