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Ewen Bremner, Chloë Sevigny, Werner Herzog, Evan Neumann, Joyce Korine ... see more see more... , Chrissy Kobylak , Alvin Law , Will Oldham

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 availab... read more read more...le 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). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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72% liked it

5,778 ratings

Critics

26% liked it

34 critics

R, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Harmony Korine

Release Date: October 15, 1999

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DVD Release Date: March 20, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (389)

  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    A little pretentious I think but very entertaining! Bremner & Herzog made it for me with their fantastic performances. I just wish it concentrated more on character than on fancy camera work, as beautiful as it was, sometimes it was a bit headache inducing. Watch as a piece of ar... read moret rather than a movie. Still can?t stop singing 'I'm a black albino straight from Alabama'! PS. It?s is not a Dogme film as it depicts a murder which is against the 2nd rule of the Dogme95 manifesto!
  • kiriyamakazou
    August 25, 2008
    kiriyamakazou
    The film is purposefully difficult. After all I can imagine it being pretty impossible to display cinematically the effects of schizophrenia, no matter how good a performance. There is a great performance from the whole cast, I especially enjoyed Herzog's bizarre father figure. T... read morehere's n real plot and the Dogma 95 aspects hinder rather than help this film. I did enjoy the cinematography which was especially grainy and filled with noise, it added a very dark and distant tone. Weird and interesting but never engaging or ground breaking.
  • ryguy4738
    April 2, 2012
    ryguy4738
    *** out of ****

    You know, the longer I go on in life; the less faith I develop in the opinions of professional movie critics. Here we have wealthy consumerists who get paid to evaluate art. We do need such people - as I feel they keep the entertainment industry in order - but ... read moretoo often do people look to them for complete guidance. When it comes to movies like those of Harmony Korine - which the critics tend to revile - I think it would be wise of most viewers to see the movie and think for themselves, regardless of what the individual thinks. Of "Julien Donkey-Boy", critics have written such things as "this movie could make you physically ill" or even "a self-indulgent mess". It would be easy to go along with these opinions and write it off as the latest in low-budget cinematic freakshow filmmaking; if one can call it that. I've always been a free-thinker and a free-spirit, so naturally I like what I like and let others who don't enjoy what I do be. The critics pretty much hated Korine's debut, "Gummo", although I found it moving and intriguing. It would seem that a good portion of the American public has made it a tradition to bash anything that is almost profoundly and unmistakably different.

    But since when is different a bad thing? An art-house/independent picture can either be pretentious and self-loving, or it can be highly personal and even fascinating. The latter is most definitely the case with Korine's second feature; which is even more personal than "Gummo" and perhaps even a little bit better. Yes, they are both strange and - to put it lightly - polarizing works of art; yet I'm calling them works of art in the first place, and that's all that should matter. Because you know what; I like strange. I like strange when there is a point, and sometimes even when there isn't. The film is full of symbols and images that are both startlingly beautiful and deeply disturbing; some things mean something on sight, other things don't. You either let it be and admire the many still photographs and sequences for their uniqueness or you start plucking the hairs straight from your head.

    The titular character, played wonderfully by the immensely talented Ewen Bremner, is an untreated young man with schizophrenia, living in a run-down suburban home and neighborhood with his family. He's not terribly old, but he hasn't made any attempts to lead a normal life; and neither has anyone else that lives under the same roof as him. Those who occupy his home include his abusive father (Werner Herzog), his brother (Evan Neumann) who has aspirations to become strong and make his living as a professional wrestler, his grandma, and his sister Pearl (Chloe Sevigny). The film is told through Julien's eyes, as he tries to make it through life one day at a time. He spends a lot of time taking walks, bowling with a group of friends, and attending mass at a local church, and then others.

    The Herzog father figure is less of one than I would ever hope to encounter. He pressures Julien's brother to put on more weight; and then constantly subjects Julien to torture and abuse of both the physical and mental variety. He also dances to Dock Bocks and wears a gas mask. Pearl, on the other hand, has a baby on the way (it is heavily implied that it is Julien's); and grandma, well, she exists. But then again, what else would these strange characters do?

    I would not recommend the film for mainstreamers. I would not recommend any art-house or Harmony Korine directed film for that audience. But there is a crowd that appreciates these sorts of films; and it's aimed right at them. More than likely, they've already discovered "Julien Donkey-Boy" and love it; or at least that is what I hope. For me, I agree with the common comments on the film being a little bit freaky and endlessly strange; but pointless it is not. Once again, Korine crafts scenes that are emotionally moving, frightening, perturbing, and sometimes even funny. Most of the time, they're just down-right bizarre - like a little vignette where an armless handicap owns Herzog at a game of cards - and then others struck me as kind of touching (the last twenty minutes, in which Pearl has a miscarriage at an ice rink). You can look at the scenes that I like as meaningless and emotionally devoid segments; or you can choose to absorb them with an open mind, take them in, and let the emotions flow through your body, mind, and soul. At best, the film represents a sense of emotional maturity in Korine's thematic elements. The film itself was dedicated to Korine's schizophrenic uncle; inspired perhaps by the experiences and memories that the director had of the man.

    As with "Gummo", "Julien Donkey-Boy" is shot almost entirely in a minimalist style, although here I think Korine takes minimalism to all new extremes. The film was created with the Dogme 95 rules in mind; so every prop was found on location, and no flashy effects. The film was shot with a MiniDV Tape, and through a few transfers it achieved a very grainy visual look. The style brings the viewer all the more closer to the madness unfolding onscreen; which is why I find it to be so effective. No, I'm not sucking up to Harmony Korine; but I do find him to be a very misunderstood and intelligent filmmaker. No doubt, he was still experiencing problems with drugs and alcohol during the making of this gem; but you've got to get the inspiration for zaniness somewhere. I can imagine Korine getting his ideas whilst taking the sort of stroll that Julien often takes to calm his complex nerves. To him, such a thing might be bliss.
  • michaelcorleone
    January 11, 2010
    michaelcorleone
    Overwhelming, sickening, powerful, beautiful, hideous. What Harmony Korine has brought to the screen is beyond description. I don't speak for the masses with my high rating, and this is not a film I would recommend to very many people. Nevertheless, it had a great deal of impact ... read moreon me and I don't think I'm going to forget it anytime soon. This piece has some of the best naturalistic acting I've seen from Ewen Bremner, Chloë Sevigny and Werner Herzog. Korine takes the kind of experimental approach in Gummo to a new level, producing a work that is wild and wholly original. I was absorbed in his vision and I was rewarded for allowing myself to be pulled into its oddness. Don't complain to me if you see it and you hate it. I personally love it.
  • shitfaced8
    February 15, 2011
    shitfaced8
    On 5th viewing I've decided that this is my favourite Harmony Korine film. Easily the most focused in it's randomness, but also the least meandering. A lot of people get it twisted. Korine's films aren't about story, but about conveying a certain realism and perspective to his ch... read moreosen subjects. Where Gummo was about white trash culture, this film is about insanity and what I imagine that perspective would look/feel like is conveyed perfectly. There is also a good amount of humour to be had here (I don't feel at Julien's expense) but I can never stop laughing throughout this. That's a good thing in my books. Most bone fide COMEDYS that come out now don't even get an uncomfortable smirk from me. Werner Herzog is brilliant in this film. Ewan Bremner is brilliant. The rest of the cast do a good job. A modern classic for sure. From a filmmaking standpoint this is also never dull and always trying to do new things. People have accused this film of being unfocused, nonsensical, headache inducing, pretentious, infantile, and so on. Whatever. As I've said Korine's movies aren't about telling a story, but offering a perspective. This isn't a film that you forget about a week after seeing, and for that I say that it is a daring classic. Easily my favourite Korine film, though he is a 'love it or leave it' director and writer. So love it or leave it.
  • divinetrash
    July 12, 2009
    divinetrash
    I love being disturbed by movies, really, and I love good performances, which this film had only good performances, and I loved the look and the whole Dogma style... I just don't like being bored and uninterested.
  • RicC
    December 17, 2010
    RicC
    Damn. I really thought I was going to like this since it's Korine work, and it has "weirdness" written all over it, but I expect the Dogme stupidity limited what he had to say and what he envisioned. None of the main characters convince me in their acting skills, the technique in... read more filming is shoddy, and the concept is dull. It walks a fine line between independent filming and homemade video. The family plot was supposed to be in relation to the schizo character, but the film could've stood without Julien, meaning, there was no connection between the protagonist and his family. Korine's taste for the offbeat - random scenes of nontraditional subject matters - is plastic, whereas in Gummo there was something to be felt with the random, dark humor.
  • cameronsm
    May 11, 2010
    cameronsm
    where do i even start with this film? ... Hmm, well, for starters, I actually found it pretty funny for the first 3/4s or so. . . but it quickly took a turn for towards depression and sickness. the dad was hilarious, most of the time.. seemingly, the only "normal" person in the f... read moreamily was the brother. all in all i liked this film, though some of the scenes were overly drawn-out and it was unnecessary.
  • awkoppenberg
    January 9, 2010
    awkoppenberg
    excellently directed.

    "hello. this adolf. he ate my mothers titties. hes a good friend. he ate my mothers titties."
  • ShaneWreck
    August 18, 2009
    ShaneWreck
    "I'm a black albino, straight from Alabama" -Victor Varnado

    Harmony based the main character on an uncle of his who was a schizophrenic. This is pretty dark, even for Korine. Dysfunction is the name of the game. Here's a rundown: Ewen Bremmer as a shizo son with gold fronts... read more, Werner Hezog as a father who chugs cough syrup out of a shoe and hurls abuse at his kids, Evan Neumann as a son who is constantly berated by his father who also likes beating up garbage cans, and Chloe Sevingy as a pregnant daughter with a fucked up back story of her own. This film was released with the Dogme '95 seal of approval, although at times it deviates from the guidelines.

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Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Julien donkey-boy acquires a spiritual dimension that allows it ultimately to become an act of redemption. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

A self-indulgent mess. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, At the Movies

It adds up to something, unlike a lot of movies where individual shots are sensational, but they add up to nothing. Full Review

Ana Marie Cox
January 1, 2000
Ana Marie Cox, Salon.com

Projects such as Julien exist not to explore the essentials of a film, but to induce in audiences a kind of critical vertigo. Full Review

Cole Smithey
September 29, 2007
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

This movie could make you physically ill.

Philip Martin
May 3, 2007
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

... mostly it just seemed mean, ruthless and designed simply to shock the sensibilities of the squares.

Jeffrey M. Anderson
August 11, 2003
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

The armless cardsharp and the rapping albino are just two of the treasures in this miraculous movie. Full Review

Joshua Tanzer
April 29, 2003
Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff

Most people who see Julien Donkey-Boy will leave the theater disturbed and it will take a special kind of odd-movie aficionado to appreciate the feeling. Full Review

Shlomo Schwartzberg
June 5, 2002
Shlomo Schwartzberg, Boxoffice Magazine

Julien Donkey-Boy really is an excuse to let Korine go nuts with his jerky video camera as he stitches together a series of completely unrelated and utterly vapid sequences. Full Review

Paula Nechak
April 3, 2002
Paula Nechak, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

While julien donkey-boy is neither bourgeois nor romantic, it is often unsettlingly funny, though it ultimately recedes into a dark womb of despair. Full Review

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