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      Julien Donkey-Boy

      R Released Sep 7, 1999 1 hr. 41 min. Drama List
      29% 38 Reviews Tomatometer 72% 5,000+ Ratings Audience Score A teenager (Ewen Bremner) struggles to exist amid a perverse and dysfunctional family. Read More Read Less
      Julien Donkey-Boy

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      Critics Consensus

      Director Harmony Korine takes a big stylistic swing that will miss with most audiences, producing an unfocused and mean-spirited art film with a bitter aftertaste.

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      Audience Reviews

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      kevin h My favorite film of all time, the greatest thing I've ever seen on film bar none Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/16/23 Full Review Audience Member A simple yet harrowing cinema verite snapshot of the lives of characters under the influence of both fate and the results of their own actions. Filmed under the somewhat severe strictures of Dogme 95, it is difficult to watch, and that is good - it's supposed to be. The film evokes a mix of emotions you will find in no other work. Bremner is so good as a hapless schizophrenic (and child murderer) he is nearly unrecognizable. Herzog is always brilliant and no less so here. This film is not for everyone. It needs to be viewed openly and without comparison or classification. I find it entertaining but not easy to watch at all. Korine definitely hit this one out of the ballpark. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautifully flawed. Well worth the moments, many, of expressionistic and poetic beauty. Has a real heart for it's characters. Great acting. Fun to boot! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Korines second flick, done two years after his cult film "Gummo". While that film was weird and quite gross this film is more experimental. Julien is a schizophrenic and a strange guy with issues. His family and especially his father acted out by Werner Herzog is also pretty spectacular. His sister is having a baby, probably his own baby and we witness their life. It's presented with many artistic points of view and presentations. Stills from scenes filled with sound, blurry pictures, weird angles. It's labled as a Dogme, wrongfully if you ask me - it does not follow all the rules and many are straight up broken. Still raw and direct. It feard it would be a very poor film, but it's very interesting and it has some very fine moments and scenes. Still it's not a masterpiece or something, but a pretty successful experiment. I found the schizophrenia a bit overdone and this is first and foremost a drama flick if you ask me. It's much sadder than it's fun. It's also feels a bit dragged, even with a rather fast pace and only about 90 minutes of playtime. 5 out of 10 aces on top. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Harmony Korine has found his perfect balance of gut wrenchingly disturbing and genuinely human implementing a documentary-like style which opens you to the harshly gritty realism he wishes to convey in every inhuman and human moment alike, though as Roger Ebert said "The odds are good that most people will dislike this film and be offended by it. For others, it will provoke sympathy rather than scorn. You know who you are." Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a great movie, period. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Julien Donkey-Boy

      Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (38) Critics Reviews
      Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: B+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Julien donkey-boy acquires a spiritual dimension that allows it ultimately to become an act of redemption. Rated: 4/5 Feb 14, 2001 Full Review 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. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Matthew Rozsa matthewrozsa.com I identified very deeply with "Julien Donkey-Boy." If you have ever struggled with mental illness - and can handle the movie's distinctly "indie" style - I suspect you will too. Rated: 4/4 Dec 17, 2020 Full Review Kaleem Aftab The List Julien Donkey-Boy consolidates Harmony Korine's credentials as the most interesting filmmaker in America today, and quite possibly the world. Rated: 5/5 Apr 16, 2019 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com This movie could make you physically ill. Rated: 0/5 Sep 29, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A teenager (Ewen Bremner) struggles to exist amid a perverse and dysfunctional family.
      Director
      Harmony Korine
      Distributor
      Fine Line Features
      Production Co
      Independent Pictures, 391 Productions, Forensic Films
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 7, 1999, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 2, 2013
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $80.2K
      Sound Mix
      Dolby SR, Surround