Julien Donkey-Boy
| Julien Donkey-Boy | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Harmony Korine (Uncredited) |
| Produced by |
Cary Woods Scott Macaulay Robin O'Hara |
| Written by | Harmony Korine (Uncredited) |
| Starring |
Ewen Bremner Chloë Sevigny Werner Herzog Evan Neumann |
| Cinematography | Anthony Dod Mantle |
| Edited by | Valdís Óskarsdóttir |
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Production
company |
391 Productions
Forensic Films Independent Pictures |
| Distributed by | Fine Line Features |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $80,226 |
Julien Donkey-Boy is a 1999 American drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. The story concentrates on the schizophrenic Julien, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, and his dysfunctional family. The film also stars Chloë Sevigny as Julien's sister, Pearl, and Werner Herzog as his father. Julien Donkey-Boy is the sixth film to be made under the self-imposed rules of the Dogme 95 manifesto, and the first non-European film to be made under the Dogme 95 "vow of chastity".
The film opens on television footage of an ice dancer - a recurring motif in the film - before cutting away to Julien, a young man with untreated schizophrenia. In the opening scene, Julien meets up with a small child with several turtles, only to strangle him to death when he is denied one. The child is then buried by Julien under the mud whilst he prays for mercy from God.
From here, we see snapshots of the members of Julien's dysfunctional family. These include his pregnant sister Pearl, the father of her baby not being revealed (though there are implications that it could indeed be Julien's), his brother Chris, who aspires to be a wrestler, his grandmother, and his domineering, German father, who shows no real love or encouragement to his family.
Rather than follow a linear narrative, we instead see various scenes and vignettes involving the main characters, such as Julien working at a school for the blind, going to confession, muttering to himself on the streets and imagining conversations with Hitler. Pearl meanwhile learns to play the harp, looks for baby clothes for her soon-to-be-born child, lists her favorite baby names and cuts her Father's hair. Chris spends practically the entire film working out and practicing his wrestling moves on trash cans, even having a frustratingly unserious match with Julien. And the Father recounts historical stories, lambasts Julien and Pearl for 'artsy-fartsy' poetry and being 'a dilettante and a slut' respectively, though also pines for his dead wife.
The climax of the film sees Pearl and Julien at an ice-skating rink. Whilst Julien tries to sell some home-made skates to a Hassidic Jewish boy, Pearl takes to the ice despite being heavily pregnant.
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Wikipedia