Gummo (Director: Harmony Korine, USA, 1997): Writer/director Harmony Korine is one strange dude. Gummo (1997) is one strange film. It follows two bored kids as they wander around a small town in Ohio looking for things to do. They sniff glue, listen to black metal music, ride dirt bikes, kill cats and run into some of the strangest residents in the US. Harmony Korine claims that he cast the bizarre secondary characters in his film by hanging out at a Burger King for 45 minutes. I believe him.
Some of the more memorable moments in the film:
- trailer trash hanging out in the kitchen, drinking beer and wrestling chairs ( I actually laughed out loud during this scene because it was so absurd and probably real)
- a deaf couple screeching while having an argument in a bowling alley
- kids sniffing glue and getting high
- a mentally challenged woman shaving off her eyebrows
- an albino woman without any toes talking to the camera
I tried watching Korine’s other film Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) and didn’t enjoy it either. Somebody in Hollywood thinks that Korine is a genius because of his bizarre films — random scenes, no narrative, weird characters.
His films could be described as experimental but I prefer to call them crap. This guy doesn’t come close to the creative genius of say, David Lynch.
Harmony Korine’s latest film, Mister Lonely is due to be released this year. I’ll take a pass and I doubt that I’ll watch another film by Korine. In my opinion, there are much better films out there that I could watch.