Gummo

One of the most remarkable directing debuts of the last twenty years. Harmony Korine’s film is not a continuous narrative, but a collage comprising a wealth of associations: Gummo assembles memories, images fraught with symbolic potential, and story fragments to create a fascinating depiction of the fictional town of Xenia, Ohio, which was ravaged by a tornado a few years ago. Two teenagers earn their keep by killing stray cats; a pair of sisters idolizes a hyperactive tennis player; Korine himself plays a gay man who tries to seduce an African-American of small stature. The diversity of these stories of outsiders and white trash is matched by the versatility of their cinematic presentation: scenes captured on 35 mm film by the terrific cinematographer Jean-Yves Escoffier (THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE) are intercut with video images of varying quality, and even with photos. This work makes it clear enough already that Korine has nothing less in mind than to reinvent the language of film.