Werner Herzog, the great German free spirit, is indeed one of the stars of 'julien donkey-boy,' which is the story of a schizophrenic, told more or less through his own eyes. The film's style is inspired by 'Dogma 95,' the Danish manifesto calling for movies to be made with hand-held cameras, available light and sound, and props found on location. Korine shot his basic material using that approach, and then passed it through a lot of post-production stages, so that at times it looks like abstract art seen through a glass, murkily. (The outtakes on the Web site look like straightforward digital video; the movie rarely does). 'julien' doesn't always work in its individual moments, but it works as a whole. It adds up to something, unlike a lot of movies where individual shots are sensational, but they add up to nothing. The characters emerge gradually from the kaleidoscopic style. We learn that Julien (Ewen Bremner, from 'Trainspotting') is a schizophrenic who lives at home with his bizarre father (Herzog), his fairly normal brother Chris (Evan Neumann) and a sister, Pearl (Chloe Sevigny), who is carrying Julien's child.
Feb 18, 2018 - Metro Tartan Distribution. June 14, 2000. Julien Donkey-boy [Sub-ITA][1999. Find this Pin and more on Cinema by kristofer103.
Life in this household consists of mind games, wrestling matches and family fights. Herzog, as the father, is the ringleader. At various times he listens to bluegrass music while wearing a gas mask, lectures on the world championship for talking birds, praises 'Dirty Harry' movies and belittles his daughter's musical ambitions: 'Why don't you tell your sister she is never going to learn to play this harp? She's a dilettante and a slut.' Sometimes this is funny. Sometimes it is sad. Some of it takes place so completely within Julien's mind that we can't be sure what really happens--the opening scene involving an attack on a boy and his pet turtle, for example. Other scenes take on a heartbreaking realism, as when Pearl has a miscarriage at an ice rink, and Julien takes the stillborn infant in his arms, carries it home with him on the bus and hides under his covers, cradling it and weeping.
The experience of seeing a movie like this is shocking for most moviegoers, and while some are stimulated by it, most resist and resent it. That's as it should be. No movie is made for everybody. 'julien donkey-boy' is hardly made for anybody. 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.
You understand, first of all, that the point of view is that of a schizophrenic person. Secondly, that the family is dysfunctional to any outside observer but functions in its own way for its members. Third, that the story is filled with genuine emotion and even love (the movie is dedicated to Korine's schizophrenic uncle). An opera aria plays in snatches throughout the film, and when it swells up at the end, it is a lament for the suffering of these characters.
Korine's background is well-known. He was a skateboarder in New York when his screenplay about his friends was made into Larry Clark's 'Kids' (1995), a harrowing portrait of street kids and their society. His second film, 'Gummo,' unseen by me, won festival prizes at Venice and Rotterdam, and was despised by a good majority of mainstream critics. Now comes 'julien,' and it demonstrates that Korine is the real thing, an innovative and gifted filmmaker whose work forces us to see on his terms.
To be sure, Korine is sometimes too willing to shock for fun. A talent show at a school for the blind is excessive, especially the cigarette-eating act; appearances by an armless drummer and a black albino rap artist also are not persuasively integrated into the rest of the film. But a scene in an African-American gospel church service begins as tourism and then deepens into something very moving, as Julien's eyes brim with tears. The odds are good that most people will dislike this film and be offended by it. For others, it will provoke sympathy rather than scorn. You know who you are.
Note: In a 'confession' published on the movie's Web site, Korine kids 'Dogma 95' at the same time he genuflects to it. He admits that although 'Dogma' requires all props to be found on location, he imported a can of cranberries from a supermarket. And he apologizes that Chloe Sevigny, his real-life girlfriend, was not really pregnant in the movie ('I did try, though') but only had a pillow stuffed under her clothes. He proudly adds that the pillow was found on the location, in his grandmother's bedroom closet. All this at www.juliendonkeyboy.com.
Julien Donkey-Boy | |
---|---|
Directed by | Harmony Korine |
Produced by | Cary Woods Scott Macaulay Robin O'Hara |
Written by | Harmony Korine |
Starring | Ewen Bremner Chloë Sevigny Werner Herzog Evan Neumann |
Cinematography | Anthony Dod Mantle |
Edited by | Valdís Óskarsdóttir |
Production company | 391 Productions Forensic Films Independent Pictures |
Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
| |
99 minutes[1] | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $80,226[2] |
Julien Donkey-Boy is a 1999 American drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. The story concentrates on Julien, a man with schizophrenia, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, and his dysfunctional family. The film also stars Chloë Sevigny as Julien's sister, Pearl, and Werner Herzog as his father. Julien Donkey-Boy is the sixth film to be made under the self-imposed rules of the Dogme 95 manifesto, and the first non-European film to be made under the Dogme 95 'vow of chastity'.
- 3Production
- 4Release
Plot[edit]
The film opens on television footage of an ice dancer – a recurring motif in the film – before cutting away to Julien, a young man with untreated schizophrenia. In the opening scene, Julien meets up with a small child with several turtles, only to strangle him to death when he is denied one. Julien then buries the child under the mud and prays for mercy from God.
We see snapshots of Julien's dysfunctional family: his pregnant sister Pearl (it is implied that Julien could be the father); his brother Chris, an aspiring wrestler; his grandmother; and his domineering, German father, who shows no real love or encouragement to his family.
Rather than a linear narrative, we instead see various scenes and vignettes involving the main characters, such as Julien working at a school for the blind, going to confession, muttering to himself on the streets and imagining conversations with Hitler. Pearl meanwhile learns to play the harp, looks for baby clothes for her soon-to-be-born child, lists her favorite baby names and cuts her father's hair. Chris spends nearly the entire film working out and practicing wrestling moves on trash cans, even having a frustratingly unserious match with Julien. The father recounts historical stories, lambasts Julien and Pearl for 'artsy-fartsy' poetry and being 'a dilettante and a slut' respectively, and pines for his dead wife.
At the film's climax Pearl and Julien are at an ice-skating rink. Julien tries to sell some homemade skates to a Hasidic boy and Pearl takes to the ice despite being heavily pregnant. She trips, landing on her abdomen and causing a miscarriage. At the hospital, Julien convinces a nurse to let him hold the baby, saying it is his. She allows it, but while alone with the baby, Julien escapes home on a bus.
Julien goes to his room, hides under the blankets, cradles the baby and mutters prayers. The film ends with ice-skating footage.
Cast[edit]
- Ewen Bremner as Julien
- Chloë Sevigny as Pearl
- Werner Herzog as Father
- Evan Neumann as Chris
- Joyce Korine as Grandma
- Chrissy Kobylak as Chrissy
- Victor Varnado as Rapper
- Brian Fisk as Pond boy
- Virginia Reath as Gynecologist
- Alvin Law as Card-playing neighbor
- Tom Mullica as Magician
- Ricky Ashley as Hasidic boy
- Carmela García as Nurse
Production[edit]
Julien Donkey-Boy was the first American film made in accordance with the Danish filmmaking manifesto Dogme 95. It was shot in New York on MiniDV tape, the film was transferred to 16mm film before being blown up to 35mm film for the master print. Korine used this method to give the film a low-definition, grainy aesthetic.
The film utilizes several cinematographic styles, including stop-motion photography, parallel cuts, and still photographs in order to tell its story.
Dogme 95[edit]
Korine broke a few of the Dogme 95 rules in making the film. For example, Dogme 95 stipulates that all props must be found at the location of filming. Julien's dead baby is a prop found in the maternity unit of the hospital where the scene was shot; it was used by the nurses there to practice pre-natal CPR. Also, all the camerawork is supposed to be handheld, but this film uses hidden cameras, technically not handheld. There is also non-diegetic music (Oval's 'Mediaton' from Systemisch in the ice-skating scene, same group's 'Shop In Store' from 94 Diskont), although it sounds like it alternates between diegetic and non-diegetic use. And finally, the director must not be credited; Korine is credited (however, the film only gives his name — it does not say 'directed by Harmony Korine', just 'Harmony Korine').
Despite these transgressions, the original Dogme 95 committee endorsed Julien Donkey-Boy. In an interview on the Epidemic DVD, Lars Von Trier, Dogme 95 co-creator, lauded Korine's ability to interpret the rules creatively.
Release[edit]
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 1999. It received a limited release in Los Angeles at a single cinema on October 15, 1999; the film showed for a month's time at the Los Angeles theater, and grossed a total of $80,226 by that November.[3] It was given a wide theatrical release in European countries the following year, particularly in France and the Netherlands.
Critical reception[edit]
Critical reaction was negative and the film currently holds a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews.[4] Based on 23 reviews, Julien Donkey-Boy has a 52/100 rating on Metacritic, indicating 'mixed or average reviews'.[5]
![Julien Donkey Boy Torrent Julien Donkey Boy Torrent](http://cdn-3.cinemaparadiso.co.uk/clp/267511-760-clp-950.jpg)
Empire Magazine said that 'Despite some creditable performances, Korine's bizarre, shambling direction renders the result less ground-breakingly experimental than rectum-numbingly dull.'[6] Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film 'A self-indulgent mess.'[7]
Despite a sense of negative reaction to the film, it was praised by some critics. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, saying the film attained a 'depth of compassion and understanding ... [it] acquires a spiritual dimension that allows it ultimately to become an act of redemption'.[8] Additional praise for the film came from Chicago Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert, who gave the film 3/4 stars, saying that '[The film] adds up to something, unlike a lot of movies where individual shots are sensational, but they add up to nothing'; Ebert did, however, note that the film had a very limited audience: 'The odds are good that most people will dislike this film and be offended by it. For others, it will provoke sympathy rather than scorn. You know who you are'.[9]
References[edit]
- ^'JULIEN DONKEY-BOY (15)'. Metro Tartan Distribution. British Board of Film Classification. June 14, 2000. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
- ^Julien Donkey-Boy at Box Office Mojo
- ^'Box office/Business for Julien Donkey-Boy'. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
- ^Julien Donkey-Boy at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved February 26, 2014
- ^Julien Donkey-Boy at Metacritic Retrieved February 26, 2014
- ^'Review: Julien Donkey-Boy'. Empire Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^Guthmann, Edward (October 29, 1999). 'Low-Tech 'Julien' is an Ugly Mess- Korine throws aesthetics out the window'. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
- ^Thomas, Kevin (October 15, 1999). 'L.A. Times Review: Julien Donkey-Boy'. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^Ebert, Roger (November 5, 1999). 'Julien Donkey-Boy Review'. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
![Julien Julien](http://pics.galagif.com/169939f53d3e853050102038b0074421/julien+donkey-boy+7C+Tumblr.jpg)
External links[edit]
- Julien Donkey-Boy on IMDb
- Julien Donkey-Boy at Box Office Mojo
- Julien Donkey-Boy at Rotten Tomatoes
- Julien Donkey-Boy at Metacritic
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