Director: Harmony Korine
Screenplay: Harmony Korine
Starring: Linda Manz, Max Perlich, Jacob Reynolds, Chloë Sevigny, Jacob Sewell and Nick Sutton
Country: United States
Running Time: 89 min
Year: 1997
Filmmaker. Artist. Actor. Gamer. Entrepreneur. DJ. Troll. All of these words encapsulate the persona of Harmony Korine, one of the most perplexing individuals of our generation. Getting his start writing Larry Clark’s Kids, a notorious cult film before moving on to direct eight diverse (and divisive) features of his own, Korine has made a name for himself as someone who doesn’t hold back with his work. Whether it’s taking Disney Channel stars like Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens and creating one of the most polarising A24 films out there, or his recent video-game inspired endeavour Aggro Dr1ft, a film shot entirely with infrared cameras featuring rapper Travis Scott in a particularly memorable scene, you never know what you’re going to get with a Korine feature.
My opinion on his work shifts on the daily, as there’s works of his that I consider utter masterpieces and others that I think are a little too much, on both a thematic and sensory level. When it comes to his debut, Gummo, I’ve had conflicting feelings on it for the same reason. It’s something that really disturbed me on my first viewing, and I wasn’t quite sure whether or not I enjoyed it until revisiting it a few years later and thinking it was alright. When Criterion announced that they were finally releasing the film on both Blu-ray and 4K UHD for the first time, I was stoked to revisit the film once again to see if I could solidify my opinion on it but given the nature of Korine’s filmography, I had no idea if that would be possible. What did I think of it on my third viewing, you might be wondering? Well…
To describe Gummo structurally is a bit of a nightmare, because it’s constantly jumping back and forth between the rich cast of characters with almost no rhyme or reason, offering the viewers a glimpse into the look of the poverty stricken town of Xenia, Ohio after the events of a life-altering tornado destroyed the town. The characters we follow include Solomon and Tummler, two young individuals who kill cats for a living and sell the carcasses to a local Chinese restaurant as well as Bunny Boy, a mute child who wears bunny ears as he also kills cats, when he’s not playing the harmonica. It’s a strange, strange set of characters and there’s a range of other people who are presented in vignettes that are equally as strange, but almost always compelling in their own strange ways.
Take one of my favourite scenes in the film, where director Korine plays a drunk man who pours his heart out to a gay dwarf in a manner that feels so raw, human and emotional while still having a sense of humour about the absurdity of the situation. There’s a scene where a deaf couple are having an argument in the middle of a bowling alley. There’s also an extended sequence involving drunk people arm-wrestling that, on paper, sounds incredibly dull but the realistic nature of the performances and the fly-on-the-wall filmmaking make every moment captivating beyond belief. The documentary-esque nature that Gummo’s presented in makes it one of the most unique motion pictures I’ve ever watched and despite there being countless moments that still disturbed me beyond belief on this viewing, I couldn’t take my eyes off the film this time around.
The new 4K restoration made it feel like I was experiencing the film for the first time all over again, and it made the comedic moments land better than they have in the past, and the emotional, disturbing aspects hit even harder. I need to mention the absolutely absurd soundtrack that accompanies the film too, because it’s equally as scattershot and unhinged as the events you’re watching in the film. One moment, you’ll be hearing Madonna’s Like a Prayer, the next, there’ll be a Burzum song playing. Roy Orbison’s Crying accompanies one of the most emotional sequences of the film, but there’s also death metal needle drop Skin Peeler from Mortician on the soundtrack. It’s an eclectic variety of tracks that somehow works, despite how all over the place it is. Korine’s experimental nature with every aspect of Gummo, from the soundtrack to the fantastic editing, the loose narrative and realistic performances throughout makes it one of the most individual pieces of filmmaking I’ve ever seen.
If you can’t tell from my review this time, this viewing blew me away and made me fall in love with Gummo. It’s a truly astounding feature that I cannot recommend enough if you’re a fan of Korine’s work, experimental filmmaking that feels almost too authentic or something that’ll challenge you as a viewer, but also reward you with one of the most original films of the 1990s.
Film: 
Gummo releases on 4K UHD and Blu-ray via the Criterion Collection on the 4th of November. The film’s making its long-overdue high (and ultra-high) definition debut, similar to Criterion’s recent release of Happiness and it’s a fantastic disc. The image clarity is perfect, with fantastic bit-rates maintained throughout the feature, with Dolby Vision HDR grading that honestly made it feel like I was watching the film for the first time again. The DTS-HD 2.0 English track sounds great too and compliments Gummo well. Optional English subtitles are included. From an A/V perspective, this might be my favourite Criterion presentation of the year, it’s a mind-blowing transfer. Perhaps it’s all the more surprising given how Gummo has been stuck on VHS and DVD for the longest time, but it’s a stunner. The following extras are included:
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Harmony Korine, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
New interview with Korine
Conversation from 1997 between Korine and filmmaker Werner Herzog
Split Screen: Projections episode from 2000 featuring Korine in conversation with host John Pierson
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by film critic Carlos Aguilar and an appreciation by filmmaker Hype Williams
New illustration by Joao Rosa
The exclusive new interview with Korine is a fun watch that lasts for 11 minutes. In typical Korine fashion, it’s unorthodox and features him smoking a cigar talking about the ‘vibes’ of Gummo. In the 11 minutes, he says a lot but doesn’t say much of substance, which I didn’t even mind. He’s a fascinating figure to listen to and even when he’s reminiscing about how he met actors for the film outside of a Circle K, it’s a joy to watch. This one might test some people’s patience, but I had fun with it and say it’s worth a watch.
The conversation from 1997 between Korine and Werner Herzog was filmed at the Telluride Film Festival and given the pair’s history, it’s a great 54 minute discussion between the pair. Two years after recording this, Korine would direct Herzog in Julien Donkey-Boy and you can tell how much the duo get along in this conversation. Korine discusses how he met Larry Clark, the process of making Gummo and more. It’s a great archival piece.
The Split Screen: Projections episode from 2000 is a good watch, highlighting Korine discussing his work up to that point with John Pierson. Gummo, Kids and Julien Donkey-Boy are the main focus of this discussion. Gummo’s section features additional interviews with the cast and crew, such as Korine, Chloë Sevigny and producer Cary Woods. It’s another solid little archival featurette that I’m happy to see Criterion include.
A theatrical trailer is included.
I wasn’t provided with the essay, unfortunately, so I’m unable to comment on that.
Criterion’s treatment of Gummo gives the cult classic the treatment it deserves after years of being stuck on low-quality DVD. The new interview is a blast and the archival extras are fantastic too. It’s a revelation thanks to the new restoration and fans of the film should absolutely pick this one up. Highly recommended.
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