But that's one of my all time favorites. Julien donkey-boy was a real good movie though. I own both Gummo and Julien, and i will say, Gummo is much more classic. Harmony Korine is one of my favorite directors and he's only come out with two movies so far. This DVD comes with some pretty good special features also. It has two deleted scenes and a interview with Harmony and the cast. If youre into really weird movies, this one is for you. peep it!

Well.I thought the movie was better than expected. I thought it was going to be plotless like some reviewers said, or really really good. Frist of all it is not plotless, it does have definite meaning although it goes off to a slow start. I mean you kind of realize how messed up this family is at the first sight, you know something is not right, and at the end you really see, and realize that you know people are living just like this in America, maybe not a mirror image but pretty damn similar. So, give it a chance, it's not like it's a 3-hour long movie, watch it and decide for yourself!

Flashing a giant mouthful of fake gold teeth that he received as a present, Julien (an almost indescribable Ewen Bremner, better known as "Spud" from Trainspotting) aimlessly and shamelessly wanders the depressing streets of his hometown of Queens in his own little schizophrenic world of make-believe, childish song, and unanswered questions. See and REALLY EXPERIENCE Julien taking a bath, all the while singing and mumbling uncoherently to himself, watch him go to work in Queens as an aide for blind students, see him put on a bra and underwear and wrestle his brother, watch his family go to church, listen and watch him talk to his dead mother on the phone, and finally, watch the breakdown of his damaged & disinegrated pysche as the unthinkable happens to Julien. The film jumps from one weird scene to the next, all in somewhat of a jumble. It is like you are inside of Julien's own schizophrenic mind as times and at others you are just a silent and invisible onlooker. Julien lives in a low to middle class & HIGHLY dysfunctional family with his pregnant, tutu wearing sister, Pearl (Chloe Sevigny), his wanna-be wrestler brother Chris (Evan Neumann), his oblivious to it all, crazy, dog loving grandmother (Joyce Korine, the director's true to life grandmother), and above all, the patriarch of the family... Chris, Julien and Pearl's sadistic, drunken, cough syrup swilling, gas-mask-wearing father(a fabulous Werner Herzog). The story of Julien is based on director Harmony Korine's ("Gummo" & screenwriter of "Kids") own schizophrenic uncle and the location where the movie was shot is the actual house that his uncle grew up in. Thusly, "Julien Donkey-Boy" was made according to the tenets of Dogme 95, the largely European movement based around the "Dogme Vow of Chastity," which eschews, among many other things, any kind of artificial lighting, costumes or props. The one thing, above all that I find amazing about these types of films like the Dogme 95 group is this filmaking isn't anything "NEW" or "GROUNDBREAKING". Film makers have been doing these types of movies FOR YEARS and YEARS. The change is that now we as viewers get to see experimental & different genres of films. It's just that with LOTS money and the need for something different to be actually "VIEWED" in this century is what is NEW. "EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN..." The way that the movie is shot is what is so interesting to me. Not the story, plot or cohesiveness, of which there is very little, but the sheer "way" of filming this movie and others like it. Shot entirely with digital video and hidden cameras on the actor's person whilst the non-sequitur "scenes"; like the scene where Pearl is buying secondhand baby clothes, are ALL shot "off the cuff" and true to life. The other people in the scenes weren't even aware that they were being filmed at the time! Post-production, the digital video is slowed down in places and given a herky-jerky home movie/Super 8 quality to it. There are also some beautiful scenes that are given an organic quality with green and gold "washes" over them, such as the scene with Pearl in a field of wheat singing to herself. There are also some very dark scenes that are given a cold quality with purple and blue "washes" to them, like the scenes of Julien playing God and Hitler, and, of course, the tragic ending scene to it all... Is this a film for everyone? Is the story truly "enjoyable"? Of course not. But if you enjoy watching the odd and obscure you will like "Julien Donkey-Boy" Happy Watching!

I think we should celebrate these types of films. This has been done very well. Just like any good film, there has been lots of thought put into what type of camera work...for example when time Julien's face is shown walking down the street with his curly hair glowing in that surreal sort of way. Maybe it's that I'm a very accepting person but the `disturbing' scenes in this didn't bother me at all. It definitely was not boring, I found it very entertaining, which is the purpose of a movie, is it not? And I felt relieved to be watching something different, being a dogma 95 film (I think it is?). I'm not too sure of the rules in dogma but this is an independent/underground type film for sure. Anyway, let's not complain about a film like this because the intentions are good and it itself is good, which compared to the rest of movies out today is very nice to see. I give it a five. Loved it.
-Cheers

I can't believe how young this guy is. He was eighteen when he wrote KIDS. That just blows me away. KIDS is a great film, but it is a Larry Clark film. This is a Harmony Korine film and it is truly something to behold.

I am willing to make the bold statement that Korine is the best American film maker making moivies today. Why? Because his films are so bold. He has faith in his own aesthetic and that gives his work a sincerity, an originality, and a power that most films lack. He has a vision and then he realizes it. This weird little skateboarder is an artist.

This is a movie for the true lover of the medium. If you have to have a linear plot line, pretty characters, or car chases, this movie is not for you. If you like convention, you will not like Harmony's movies. But if you are a fan of honest, iconoclastic art, buy Julien Donkey Boy.

I loved Werner Herzog as the crazy father.