Details
Movie Description
Flashing a mouthful of fake gold teeth, Julien (Ewen Bremner) wanders the streets of New York City, mumbling nonsensical syllables to himself. He tries to avoid the abuse of his sadistic drunken gas-mask-wearing father (German director Werner Herzog). He cracks a young boy's head open with a rock. He befriends a blind figure skater. He wears a bra and underwear as he wrestles with his younger brother. And his sister, Pearl (Chloë Sevigny), is pregnant--with Julien's child.
Writer-director Harmony Korine succeeds remarkably well in showing the world through Julien's eyes: a schizophrenic kaleidoscope of images--some hauntingly beautiful, some disturbing and violent. The first American film made in accordance with the Danish filmmaking manifesto Dogma 95 (which also includes THE CELEBRATION and MIFUNE), JULIEN DONKEY-BOY uses no cinematic tricks such as artificial lighting or studio sound. Shot on handheld digital video, the film was transferred to 16mm stock before being blown up to 35mm film for the final print. Korine used this unique method to give the film the low-definition, degraded look of an old Super-8 home movie. Pushing the envelope further, Korine rejects classic narrative storytelling in favor of a more poetic succession of scenes. The result is a gritty, surreal collage that powerfully and touchingly evokes the schizophrenic experience as few films have.
Synopsis
Scenes of beauty intersect with those of painfully desperate realism in JULIEN DONKEY-BOY, an intense portrait of one man's paranoid schizophrenia. Shot on digital video, writer-director Harmony Korine abided by the codes of the Danish Dogme 95 collective in order to become the first American filmmaker to earn their seal of approval.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical
Making Of - 1. CONFESSIONS OF JULIEN DONKEY-BOY
Deleted Scenes
Text/Photo Galleries:
Filmographies - 1. Cast & Crew
Theatrical release: October 15, 1999.
Julien’s grandmother is played by writer-director Harmony Korine’s grandmother, and many of the film’s scenes were shot in her house.
JULIEN DONKEY-BOY and Thomas Vinterberg’s Dogma 95 film, THE CELEBRATION, share the same cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, and editor, Valdis Oskardottir.
After completing a Dogma 95 film, directors must write a confession to their fellow members, explaining the ways in which they have broken the Dogma "Vow of Chastity" to not use any cinematic artifice. In his Confession for JULIEN DONKEY-BOY, Korine writes that his girlfriend, Chloë Sevigny, is not really pregnant in the film; she’s wearing a prosthetic belly. "I tried to make her pregnant myself, but there wasn't enough time... Perhaps it is my fault. Perhaps I am shooting blanks," writes Korine.
The film’s script included only general descriptions of scenes; all the dialogue was improvised by the actors.
Chrissy Kobylak, who plays blind ice-skater Chrissy in the film, is in fact a blind ice-skater in real life. Korine discovered her on an episode of INSIDE EDITION.
In a number of scenes, including the scene where Julien carries a dead fetus onto a public bus, Korine used hidden "spy cameras" in order to get genuine reactions from unsuspecting onlookers.
Over the course of his 25 day shoot, Korine amassed 86 hours of footage, which then had to be cut down by his editor into the final 90 minute film.
The character of Julien is based on Korine’s schizophrenic uncle, Eddie. During preparation for the film, Korine had actor Ewen Bremner meet his uncle and later listen to audiotapes of him to gain insight into the role.
Industry Reviews
"...An exciting artistic leap...Korine has found [new] ways to convey emtional terrain..." -- Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly - p.89 - Lisa Schwarzbaum (10/29/1999)
"...With strong turns and poetic moments, JULIEN DONKEY-BOY is remarkable..." -- 4 out of 5 stars
Total Film - p.96 - Dan Jolin (10/01/2000)
"...A film of piercing beauty and pain....So steady is Korine's gaze, and of such a depth of compassion and understanding, that JULIEN DONKEY-BOY acquires a spiritual dimension that allows it ultimately to become an act of redemption..."
Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (10/15/1999)
"...It adds up to something....The characters gradually emerge from the kaleidoscopic style....The story is filled with genuine emotion and even love..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (11/05/1999)
"...A fascinating glimpse into the evolution of a director who, beneath the media bluster, remains one of America's most vital filmmakers..."
Sight and Sound - Danny Leigh (07/01/2001)
Quotations
"You look so utterly stupid. If I were so stupid I would slap my own face!"--Julien's father (Werner Herzog) to Julien
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