Harmony Korine: From Gummo to Spring Breakers

               

               

      Harmony Korine is widely known in the indie community for his unique style of film making.  Harmony’s films are typically far from the mainstream in the sense that they tend to depict people and events through a bristly, gritty viewpoint and contain all the strange familiarity of a nightmare you can’t wake up from.  The cultural dissonance portrayed in his films is characteristic of Korine’s artistic style.  His films have a habit of making people aberrantly mad, but if you watch them with a heightened sense of concentration, you can actually appreciate the stylistic choices made by Korine.  From his film making debut at age 19, Korine has made films that showcase a sense of exaggerated realism in a weird and gritty way, until recently.  His new movie Spring Breakers seems to me to be the exact opposite of the style that he has tried so hard to maintain.

Korine’s 1997 film Gummo, is a low budget film that follows two boys named Solomon and Tummler on their involvements in Xenia Ohio, a small town that never actually recovered after being torn apart by a tornado in the 1970’s.  Korine immediately terminates the idea of a plot line by showing us bits and pieces of disconnected scenes with many bizarre characters who really express to the audience the central idea of the film, which is a corrupt group of kids.  Korine also did not use real actors to act in this film because he felt that real people could contribute something more than an actor ever could and that is a sense of realism and personality.  The film is extremely off-Hollywood due to the simplistic cinematography and stylistic choice.  The film is a lower budget film with less expensive talent and showcases a sense of exaggerated realism by following the ‘ordinary’ lives of the characters.  

Korine’s latest film Spring Breakers seems to be a colossal change in Korine’s style. By only watching the trailer movie appears to be much different that Gummo but in reality it still encompasses the same central idea which is a group of corrupt kids but it is just displayed in a more flashy and provocative way, and it helps that it has a story line.  Korine, who previously did not like to use real actors in his films, uses ex- Disney stars to make a point about kids and corruption.  In my personal opinion, I believe that Korine’s choice to use ex- Disney stars in this movie will actually heighten the symbolism and make the movies message more realistic when the audience sees that even the teen actors they looked up to on their favorite television shows are now bikini wearing bank robbers that sworn to do whatever it takes to have the most wild spring break.  Opposite of Gummo , this movie seems to be more on the Hollywood side than the indie side, with bug budgets, stars , and advanced cinematography.  Although the movie seems to lack the grit and grain that is characteristic in the rest of Korine’s films, I’m sure the movie will contain a unique twist that I believe no one in the theater (except those who know Korine’s work) will see coming. 

                I hope that when the movie comes out, it will show the world just how good a Harmony Korine film can be and maybe people will find a new found appreciation for his older works.  I also hope that Korine will stick to his stylistic preference and not conform to the ways of mainstream film making, unless he wants to. I’m sure a lot of people wouldn't mind the change though.

Moonrise Kingdom- Review

This short film takes place in 1965 on a fictional island named New Penzance. The movie begins in the main female character Suzy Bishop’s home. The scene shows the Bishop boys listening to their record player while Suzy is sitting with binoculars around her neck. Suzy is a twelve year old girl who is disliked by her peers and her parents believe that she is a troubled child. Through a flashback we learn that she has a pen pal, named Sam Shukusky, who she meets at a play of Noah’s Ark at a church. Sam is an orphan and a member of the Khaki scout troop 55. He is also disliked by his peers and his foster parents have refused to take him back after camp ends because they believe he is disturbed. Sam and Suzy have been writing each other for a year and have decided to run away together to an unnamed island. It is not long before Suzy’s mother, Laura, and Sam’s Khaki scout troop leader, Scout Master Ward, find out about the runways. They notify Captain Share that they are each missing a child, which causes the entire island to start a manhunt to locate the two runaways. The two star-crossed lovers are not in any hurry to be found and thanks to Sam’s wilderness survival skills are well equipped and ready to take on anyone who tries to stop their love. The narrator of this story tells us that in three days there will be a storm unlike any other on the island that adds to the necessity to find Sam and Suzy soon.

In Chapter 1 of American Independent Cinema, Geoff King discusses the strategies that are employed when making an independent film. He states, “Some films customarily designated as ‘independent’ operate at a distance from the mainstream in all three respects: they are produced in an ultra-low-budget world a million miles from that of the Hollywood blockbuster; they adopt formal strategies that disrupt or abandon the smoothly flowing conventions associated with the mainstream Hollywood style; and they offer challenging perspectives on social issues, a rarity in Hollywood”.

Although, Wes Anderson has tried multiple times to make his way into mainstream film making this film demonstrates the opposite of what is required to make a blockbuster film. In a non-independent film story lines are typically smooth-flowing and spoon fed to the audience. However, Anderson uses unconventional methods of telling the story which adds to the films originality and makes the story line thought-provoking. Also, Instead of telling a love story about two children in modern times, Anderson approaches the sensitive topic of young love from an outdated standpoint, which in my opinion is more captivating. The use of deadpan humor in was a phenomenal addition which added humor to this film in a unique and unconventional way. The wackily dressed narrator and the quirky wardrobes of the cast were fitting to their awkward characters.

Anderson was also working on a tight money budget because his last film The Fantastic Mr. Fox did not do as well as he had hoped. It was evident in the film that the budget was tight, because of minor things like location and the simplicity of the scenes and filming quality and techniques.  Although the budget was small I believe this film reached its maximum potential, and truly told a story that was more realistic than the stories of Hollywood.

One thing that truly caught my attention was the use of symbolism in this movie which is rare to find in mainstream Hollywood films. One use for symbolism in the film was the fact that Sam and Suzy ran away to an island which is symbolic for isolation. Another is the fact that Sam and Suzy see adults as nothing more than unrelatable human beings, when the truth is that the children and adults have more than a few similarities.

Overall, Moonrise Kingdom is a must see film whether the audience is accustomed to Independent films or not. The quirky characters, picturesque settings and the thought-provoking story line are definitely the primary reason that this film is so interesting. As a person who has never been interested in Independent films, I can truly say that this film has heightened my interest in the Indie film industry and I will definitely be watching more Indie films in the future.