This is a very odd movie, and is probably one of the most critically divided movies out there. While it does have a cult following and it does receive a lot of praise, it also receives an equal amount of harsh criticism. I can see both sides of the argument. When I first saw this movie, I was interested because of how bizarre and surreal it was, but I was also kind of mixed about how I felt, because I felt it was just the director Harmony Korrine parading his personality. Sort of like this one guy I knew who bragged about how he was into film his whole life, I felt that Korrine was just saying "look how weird and messed up I can be." I've seen the movie about 3 times since, and my opinion changed. I like it now. Part of the reason I like this movie could be because I lived in a town near Xenia Ohio, where the movie is set.
The movie really doesn't have much of a plot. The whole concept is a tornado ripped through Xenia damaging half the town, and killing half at the same time. What is left afterward is a boring, post apocalyptic world, narrated by a 14 year old kid named Solomon. The rest of the movie is basically a series of somewhat unrelated clips, the reason I say somewhat is because the way they flow together is kind of like someone took a camera through a messed up town, mainly following two kids, but filming some other people on the way, and showing things that the two kids talk about.
Some of the things they do in the short segments are funny, some depraved, and some just completely weird. The two main characters, Solomon and Tumler, kill cats and sell them to a butcher shop, so they can get money to buy glue to huff. In the middle of the movie they realize they have a little competition, a cross dressing teenager who takes care of his catatonic grandmother is also killing cats to make money.
Some other characters are two teenage girls who try to raise their nipples, and basically do teenage girl stuff throughout the movie. One of them is played by Chloe Sevigny, who is currently on HBO's Big Love. Some other characters include an albino, two skinheads who killed their parents, a bunch of drunk hicks who wrestle chairs (one of which is played by skater Mark Gonzales), a guy who pimps his retarded sister, and the movie's mascot, a kid who skateboards around in bunny ears. One of the funniest and strangest parts of the movie is when he runs into two foul mouthed 6 year olds in a junkyard, who say some outrageous things. It's been commonly interpreted that the bunny kid represents the only true happiness in the rundown town.
One thing I've grown to like is how the movie is a half documentary. I say half because some of the stuff appears to be real people that the director found in a Tennessee town who are just being themselves. Another interesting element is the usage of different film throughout the movie. Most of the movie is filmed in regular film, but some parts are filmed with grainy hand-held camera footage, giving it even more of a documentary like feel.
If you're a metal-head you'll love the soundtrack. It has songs by Bathory, Burzum, Sleep (one of my favorite parts is when Tummler and Solomon bike down the hill while Sleep's Dragonaut plays in the background), and a song by Bethlehem plays during a couple of scenes. Black metal fans will be pleased during a scene in the middle when they show footage of people in corpse paint doing some kind of ceremony. Besides just metal, there's also that song Crying by Roy Orbison (another one of the best scenes is when this song plays), Like a Prayer by Madonna, and this one classical piece that perfectly fits the movie.
This movie might take a few viewings to appreciate, and it's not guaranteed you'll like it. One thing I can say is that once you watch it becomes hard to stop because of how depraved everything becomes. By the end of the movie, you'll wish the tornado had just killed the other half of the town the first time around.
The movie really doesn't have much of a plot. The whole concept is a tornado ripped through Xenia damaging half the town, and killing half at the same time. What is left afterward is a boring, post apocalyptic world, narrated by a 14 year old kid named Solomon. The rest of the movie is basically a series of somewhat unrelated clips, the reason I say somewhat is because the way they flow together is kind of like someone took a camera through a messed up town, mainly following two kids, but filming some other people on the way, and showing things that the two kids talk about.
Some of the things they do in the short segments are funny, some depraved, and some just completely weird. The two main characters, Solomon and Tumler, kill cats and sell them to a butcher shop, so they can get money to buy glue to huff. In the middle of the movie they realize they have a little competition, a cross dressing teenager who takes care of his catatonic grandmother is also killing cats to make money.
Some other characters are two teenage girls who try to raise their nipples, and basically do teenage girl stuff throughout the movie. One of them is played by Chloe Sevigny, who is currently on HBO's Big Love. Some other characters include an albino, two skinheads who killed their parents, a bunch of drunk hicks who wrestle chairs (one of which is played by skater Mark Gonzales), a guy who pimps his retarded sister, and the movie's mascot, a kid who skateboards around in bunny ears. One of the funniest and strangest parts of the movie is when he runs into two foul mouthed 6 year olds in a junkyard, who say some outrageous things. It's been commonly interpreted that the bunny kid represents the only true happiness in the rundown town.
One thing I've grown to like is how the movie is a half documentary. I say half because some of the stuff appears to be real people that the director found in a Tennessee town who are just being themselves. Another interesting element is the usage of different film throughout the movie. Most of the movie is filmed in regular film, but some parts are filmed with grainy hand-held camera footage, giving it even more of a documentary like feel.
If you're a metal-head you'll love the soundtrack. It has songs by Bathory, Burzum, Sleep (one of my favorite parts is when Tummler and Solomon bike down the hill while Sleep's Dragonaut plays in the background), and a song by Bethlehem plays during a couple of scenes. Black metal fans will be pleased during a scene in the middle when they show footage of people in corpse paint doing some kind of ceremony. Besides just metal, there's also that song Crying by Roy Orbison (another one of the best scenes is when this song plays), Like a Prayer by Madonna, and this one classical piece that perfectly fits the movie.
This movie might take a few viewings to appreciate, and it's not guaranteed you'll like it. One thing I can say is that once you watch it becomes hard to stop because of how depraved everything becomes. By the end of the movie, you'll wish the tornado had just killed the other half of the town the first time around.