Once known as the enfant terrible of cinema writer and director Harmony Korine has gone from shocking us with unknown and non-actors in scenes of worlds we didn’t know existed in independent underground cult classics to doing the same thing on a much grander scale using giant Hollywood style productions and starring some of the biggest names in the business.
Legendary director Gus Van Sant has touted Korine’s works, and the late film historian and critic Roger Ebert said his name belongs among the greats like Godard, Herzog, and Cassavetes. Here are the essential Korine films you will need to watch if you want a good overall grasp on his evolution as a filmmaker and experimentation with cinema.
7 The Beach Bum (Writer/Director - 2019)
The Beach Bum is the latest release from the 49-year-old Korine and stars Matthew McConaughey as a hedonistic Florida hippy poet who wants to live life to its fullest as he sees it. The film also stars Snoop Dogg, Martin Lawrence, Jimmy Buffet, and Zac Efron among others. Korine’s success over the years has granted him access to an eclectic mixture of Hollywood actors and superstar status musicians. This wasn’t always the case for the former Nashvillian who grew up shooting black and white skateboard videos of his friends. Who the actors are have become just as important as their roles in the film and it’s Korine’s ability to create something out of this cinematic gumbo which many find intriguing.
6 Spring Breakers (Writer/Director - 2012)
A24
The further you go back into Korine’s film career, the darker it gets. Spring Breakers signified a turning point in Korine’s films because it signaled a departure from his more experimental earlier works and it has an overall more polished texture. The film stars Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine as college-aged girls on spring break in Florida where they meet up with local drug dealer/rapper James Franco and go on a drug and crime spree. It’s every parent’s nightmare come true as the group of young girls get sucked down a neon smoked-filled rabbit hole of debauchery.
5 The Fourth Dimension (Writer/Director - 2012)
In The Fourth Dimension three directors from three different countries were each asked to create their own short film version of their idea of parallel universes. In a genius move Korine was able to cast Val Kilmer to play a version of himself from an alternate reality where he has become a self-help guru at the Lotus Community Workshop. The 30 minute short is almost entirely filmed inside a rollerskating rink where Kilmer is offering hope to average everyday citizens who are mesmerized by the actor’s charisma and charm.
4 Trash Humpers (Writer/Director/Actor - 2009)
Screen capture / Youtube
Trash Humpers is Harmony Korine’s most experimental and strange work. Filmed in just a couple of weeks and recorded on used VHS tapes, there’s a rawness to it akin to something that might come out of a retirement community if someone dosed the residents with LSD and Viagra at the same time. The plot, if you can call it that, consists of a gang of old folks going through dark neighborhood alleys literally humping trash cans and causing havoc. Korine has stated the idea for the movie came about from peeping Toms that used to roam his neighborhood as a young kid in Nashville.
3 Julien Donkey-Boy (Writer/Director - 1999)
Julien Donkey-Boy, Harmony Korine’s sophomore directoral release, which he also wrote, features the third and final appearance of actress Chloe Sevigny in his films. Scottish actor Ewen Bremner plays Julien, a man with schizophrenia, and the film is largely a view of the world through his eyes. The idea for the character Julien is said to be based on Korine’s uncle and Werner Herzog plays his father. The film was shot in accordance (for the most part) with Dogme 95 rules which seem to view filmmaking almost as a religious endeavor. They even have “vows of chastity” and a manifesto that steers away from technology and special effects.
2 Kids (Writer/Actor - 1995)
Shining Excalibur Films
The movie Kids was written by Harmony Korine during his time in New York and was the first script he ever sold. And what a groundbreaking script it turned out to be. In partnership with director Larry Clark Kids took viewers into the lives of a group of New York skateboarders and their girlfriends during the AIDS epidemic. It was a raw look at unsupervised street kids on any given day in New York City in the ’90s. The film is responsible for jump-starting the careers of Chloe Sevigny and Rosario Dawson as it was their very first film roles. The realness of the film is what most speaks to viewers.
1 Gummo (Writer/Director/Actor - 1997)
Fine Line Features
Korine’s Magnum Opus as far as many are concerned, Gummo, has to be experienced to be believed. By the title alone no one would have any idea what they were about to see. Some people can’t get past the first five minutes and some people proclaim it a cinematic masterpiece. The plot centers around life in Xenia, Ohio following a catastrophic tornado that turned life upside down. Filmed entirely in some of the more seedy neighborhoods of West Nashville, it’s often hard to tell where the acting and non-acting meet. The film contains Korine’s artistic touch like no other. From the casting, to the soundtrack, to the collage of bizarre scenes, one can’t sit through the entirety of Gummo unchanged.
