Wordiezett So much average

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

framptonhollis This movie isn't for everyone, and both fans and detractors of the film must accept that. Someone who loves this film isn't automatically "pretentious" and someone who hates it isn't automatically "too stupid" for "art". That being said, I feel as if this film should at least be given a chance by everybody whose interested deeply in the movies. It is in no way a conventional film, it combines all sorts of styles and moods while still miraculously maintaining all of the requirements to be labeled officially as a dogme 95 film. In itself, that is quite the achievement, but Korine's brilliant film goes lightyears beyond accomplishing only that. Most people may believe that there is a fine line between comedy and tragedy, at least in most cases, but I fervently disagree, and films like "Julien Donkey-Boy" could be the best evidence I have for this belief. Harmony Korine does not bore audiences with constant brooding drama, but he does not pander to them by providing constant comedy. Instead, he shakes things up a bit on a scene by scene basis, or sometimes just on a minute to minute basis, or even a second to second basis; there are scene in this film that tackle the very difficult task of being both roaringly funny and deeply sad in a comparable fashion to such gems as "Happiness" or "Lolita". The film focuses on many troubling, disturbing themes, including mental illness, incest, death, abuse (physical and mental), deformity, loneliness, sadness, etc, but it's hardly ever downright depressing. It is tense and shocking, but only rarely can I say it made me feel really bad, and whenever it did that's because it was supposed to, and I realized that n these moments Korine is just doing his job, and he's doing it absolutely wonderfully. "Julien Donkey-Boy" is an intensely evocative and emotional experience filled with memorable characters and moments, bits and pieces of philosophical dialogue, awkward black humor, perverse behavior, terrifying imagery, disorienting editing, avant garde beauty, and plenty more are constantly showcased during the entirety of this entertaining, yet artistically extreme and highly ambitious (to an almost unrealistic level) film. You may love it, you may hate it, you may love some moments, and you may hate others. It can be seen as either a huge, tonally confused mess or a refreshingly original take on the dysfunctional family drama (if that's even what it wants to replicate, implying that such a cryptically bizarre film would really want to replicate anything). It's got moments that made me laugh out loud and others that made me choke on my own tears. There is one scene in which a man swallows a shocking amount of lighted cigarettes, and other scenes include a rapping albino, a man without any arms who drums with his feet, and plenty more. These are real people that see to have been plopped into a fictional world, Harmony Korine lets his imagination run wild despite dogme 95's extreme limitations. He's a fearlessly unique and surreal filmmaker, a man whose films make my mind explode with confusion, happiness, and melancholy. Too bad he had to go on to make sh*t like "Trash Humpers"...

jzappa There is a line that separates two types of independent art-house films often misconstrued as one. One side of the line is populated by films that are inventive and disturbingly stimulating of emotions, usually a completely nude display of unpleasant things and people. The other side is comprised of films that are shocking, repulsive, and generally don't move forward with their stories, instead shuffling sustained sequences where virtually nothing changes, shapelessly finding its way to the end of the movie. julien donkey-boy could either be lying perfectly upon this line between both types of films, or it could be the latter type. Usually, the latter type can be very basically and degradingly entertaining, voyeuristically tempting you to continue watching its stylistic repugnance.A bigger part of me likes julien donkey-boy. A smaller part of me doesn't. The part of me that likes it is fond of the gritty, demented use of the camera. The film's setting, a trashy, lower middle class environment full of generally unhealthy and unattractive people, is appropriate for Anthony Dod Mantle's bleak, very very grainy and unglamorous lens. Upon reflection, I realize that the film was really trying to say something, but the part of me that doesn't like it tells me that it's too immediately unclear and abstract to be fully understood.The film's unabashed, possibly record-setting weirdness could be neither a plus or minus, and rather something meant to challenge the viewer, to make us reflect on the judgmental perspective that keeps many from understanding films like these and characters like those that are in it. So I suppose the verdict is that it's a good movie, but for a rare and acquired taste.

stvengoranmatthews the main reason i decided to view Julien Donkey-Boy was because it was directed by Harmoney Corine, who had written the brilliant kids. I thought i new what to expect from Korine's directorial debut, but is was genuinely and happily surprised. The film is a difficult one to watch if one is used to this type of film-making: the Dogma-style of film-making. I wasn't used to it! But despite the film's grainy picture quality, allegorical allusions, etc. {all of which is initially pretentious and arty}, the basic storyline is one of simple beauty. Ewen Bremner's titular performance was a masterclass in method acting and he delivered a truly heartbreaking turn. Chloe Sevigny was also quietly amazing as Julien's heavily-pregnant sister Pearl. The film's most bizarre performance came from German filmmaker Werner Herzog as the domineering father; i didn't really understand a lot of his dialogue but maybe that was Korine's intention. Half way through the film i realised that i really cared about these characters and what was going to happen to them. As the film draws towards its climax and events take a turn towards the tragic, i was totally involved with these characters and the final image had a profound effect on me. Julien Donkey-Boy is a strangely beautiful film that i would like to watch again, so that i can fully appreciate its intensity and Korine's obvious passion for a different {revolutionary} form of contemporary film-making.

J. M. Verville I found this film to be very interesting and gripping, especially the role of Julien's father played by Werner Herzog. The film lures one in from the very beginning, and keeps you interested until the very end. I felt as if everything from the acting to the soundtrack, to the filming was creative, original, and capturing. Korine really shows here what can be done with film when he pushes the limits -- and in so pushing the limits he still comes up with a very good film that I feel is better than his first (Gummo). Not only is the film a sort of commentary on mental illness and differences in general, but it is also an infinitely intriguing film. What stands out about this film is that through its' often very surreal experiences you can often find greater bits of reality in it; I felt that the film embraced a sense of total freedom that one needs for it really to be Art, but still had a concise guidance that made it very viewable and entertaining at the same time. This is a film that truly keeps your interest from start to finish.