Harmony Korine

Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973, in Bolinas, California) is a U.S. film director, producer, screenwriter and author. He is commonly characterized by his abstract film plots and hauntingly true, often shocking, portrayals of society.

Life and Career

Kids

File:Kids film poster.jpg

Kids

Korine first gained notoriety in 1995, at the age of 21, for the screenplay Kids (directed by Larry Clark) -- a film that examines the lives of several New York teenagers who are coming of age in the era of AIDS. Kids garnered good reviews, but due to its NC-17 / unrated rating, few of its intended audience actually saw the film upon its debut. However, it has become a significant cult film. The film features Chloë Sevigny in her first movie role.

Gummo

Following Korine's fame with Kids, he directed and co-produced Gummo (1997) -- a film based on life in Xenia, Ohio, a town devestated by a tornado. Forgoing conventional narrative, Gummo embodies sketches written by Korine, hence the nonlinear, fragmented events over the course of the film capitalizing on the obscure. A contributor to the ingenuity and zeitgeist of the film, much of the cast was found during preproduction where it was filmed in Tennessee. Of all those who appeared in the film, only five were experienced actors/actresses. Although New York Times critic Janet Maslin deemed Gummo "the worst film of the year,"[1] it earned Korine the respect of noted filmmakers such as Gus Van Sant and Werner Herzog. The film is notable for having unsettling often bizzarre scenes, as well as a dreamlike soundtrack which strengthens the disconcerting atmosphere of the film.

Anne Frank Part II

In 1998, Korine made "The Diary of Anne Frank Part II," a 40-minute three-screen collage featuring a boy burying his dog, kids in satanic dress tearing apart and vomiting on a Bible, and a man in black and white minstrel make-up dancing and singing "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean".

Julien Donkey-Boy

Korine released his next film, Julien Donkey-Boy, in 1999, which included a signed Dogme 95 manifesto, but in fact broke every rule. The story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner of Trainspotting fame, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by the German director Werner Herzog of Grizzly Man fame. At one point, Korine was to play the son, but he backed down and was replaced by Evan Neumann.

Mister Lonely

His third feature film, Mister Lonely, is set to begin production in 2006, starring Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant, Anita Pallenberg, David Blaine, Jean-Pierre Léaud and Werner Herzog. The film is co-written by his brother, Avi Korine.

Trivia

Korine originally intended to follow up Gummo with a short-lived project known as Fight Harm. Described as a comedy, it comprised footage of Korine engaging random people in actual street fights. In filming these fights, Korine followed a loose set of rules: his opponent had to be larger and stronger than him, he had to provoke his opponent into throwing the first punch, and the fights could not be broken up unless Korine was in danger of losing his life. Korine got his friend David Blaine to film most of the fights for him and claimed later that he was one of the worst cameramen he's ever worked with and most of the footage Blaine shot was unusable. After filming seven fights and sustaining several injuries, Korine had produced only fifteen minutes of usable footage. He subsequently aborted the project.

In 2002, Larry Clark made the film Ken Park, based on a script Korine had written several years earlier. The film, another adult tale of youth gone awry, was not distributed in the US and was banned in Australia. At the time of its release, Korine had long since severed his relationship with Clark and had no involvement in its production. Although three years later when asked about Clark, Korine said that he "wished him the best."

He is the co-author of the lyrics of Björk's musical composition "Harm of Will" from her album Vespertine (2001).

He is also the author of a book entitled A Crack Up at the Race Riots, a collection of blackly humorous notes, rumors and random words he invented, stole (part of an old interview with actor Johnny Depp, from Interview magazine, is included) and overheard.

Through the years he has made various shorts (like Jokes) and music videos (such as "Sunday" for Sonic Youth), and in 2003 he made the film Above the Below about his friend David Blaine and his 44-day stunt over the Tower Bridge in London inside a Plexiglas box. The movie also includes jokes, visual poetry, and music.

External links

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