Collected Screenplays 1: Jokes / Gummo / julien donkey-boy

by harmony-korine

Only 23-years-old when he directed his extraordinary debut feature Gummo, Harmony Korine has since continued to serve notice that he is the riskiest, most radical young talent in independent US film. This collection of three screenplays displays his defiantly unorthodox approach to film form, as well as the unclassifiable imaginative energy that drives all of his work.

Genres: Fiction, Plays, Film

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2002

Reviews

[cassidy h · Rating 5 out of 5]

This arrived in the mail yesterday and I finished it within hours. It took me years to "get" Harmony Korine; to watch Gummo past the opening narration; to understand that his work is full of heart and free of judgment. It's almost impossible to articulate why Harmony is great because that's an understanding someone has to approach on their own, when discomfort regarding his work turns into understanding and finally turns into admiration.

All of the work is absurd, sure -- but I agree when Harmony calls his work realist. You could encounter his characters anywhere; perhaps you've even lived some of the experiences he details. I was really put off by his introduction to "Jokes," but I fell in love with it when I read it and I'm sad it was never fully realized as a film. His characters, despite their strange circumstances, feel real. Their struggles feel real. His scene detail in the scripts is imaginative, but always grounded. Harmony doesn't stray from reality, even when it's ugly.

But when it's ugly, he doesn't judge. In these screenplays, Kids, and the films of his I've seen, he doesn't ever seem to judge. He highlights that it's not his job to preach a moral narrative and I agree. He's not trying to tell you anything. He doesn't exploit his characters to serve some preachy purpose. People are as they are, strange as they may be, and Harmony bears witness to it.

Yeah, I get it, everyone hates that "Harmony Korine fan" but I just really love him, ok? Harmony doesn't judge.

[Marzi Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a somehow hypnotic and projective quality about all of Harmony Korine's works. What is presented never ceases to be both stunningly beautiful and unbearably ugly simultaneously. "Gummo" is currently my overall favorite film for a nearly infinite number of reasons. One of these reasons is that every scene has the potential to be picked apart and/or pieced together literally and symbolically. Another reason is that the film succeeds radiantly at inventing and presenting a world that is both 100% realistic and entirely dreamlike. I had originally purchased this book mainly to read the original screenplay for "Gummo." I have found that the other two screenplays, "Jokes" and "julien donkey-boy" are nearly just as riveting. The transcript of "julien donkey-boy" that concludes the collection does not serve much justice to the film. (It is widely believed that the transcript was not even written by Korine.) Otherwise, this is a marvelous treasure for any fan or enemy of Korine's films. I do recommend watching the actual movies beforehand (sans "Jokes," which was never completed), but this is a must-read collection that helps to explore Harmony Korine's works further for all of his fans.

[Jake Beka · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow. that was intense.

[?0?0?0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Harmony Korine, you're going to want to pick this collection up for a number of reasons. Firstly, the written scripts are not the finished films: "Gummo" as a screenplay lacks many of memorable scenes that ended up in the movie and also includes different settings and dialogue for the scenes kept in. The "Gummo" screenplay is melancholic and more focused than the movie, basically it's the story of a few sisters searching for a missing cat after the storm.
Secondly, "Jokes" was never completed. "Jokes" is part of a trilogy that was never finished (the other two parts being done by Gus Van Sant & William Eggleston) and promises to be, when completed, quite something. In fact, if you want to see what this project looked like, check out the recent book released about Gus Van Sant called "Icons", where you will find stills from the movies.
Lastly, these scripts are pure Korine in a very messed up period of his life. There's nothing glamorous or fun about being hooked to smack but to read these scripts knowing how whacked Korine was at the time should shed some light on just how talented this guy is: through an immense opiate fog, Korine is able to be more true, absurd, and beautifully asinine than most sober writers of his generation.
So there's much to recommend here for fans of Harmony's but if you're not a fan, I really don't see what this book will do to sway you, instead I'd just say stop being so overly uptight about what proper art is and get lost in his crazy dreams and enjoy/disgust yourself with the movies first.

[Lafayette Hubbard · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably better off just watching them foreeeeeal

[Lukáš Hamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Korine je jedným z najzaujímavejších amerických umelcov súčasnosti, s najsilnejším autorským hlasom a prejavuje sa to nie len v jeho kontrovernýh filmoch, ale i scenároch, beletrii, maľbách, kolážach, či inej forme umenia v ktorej aplikuje svoju jedinečnú estetiku. Je to majster mystifikátor a je až neuveriteľné, aké množstvo situácií a dialógov, ktoré vo filmoch Gummo a Julien Donkey boy pôsobili absolútne improvizovane a spontánne, mali svoju predlohu v scenári. Je to autor, ktorého rukopis poľahky spoznáme po jednej-dvoch vetách. Tejto knihe zozbieraných scenárov by som koniec koncom vytkol iba jeden moment (rovnaký ako aj filmu) Julien Donkey boy, kedy hlavný protagonista na začiatku príbehu zavraždí malého chlapca, ktorý sa s ním nechce hrať. Toto násilie mi prišlo samoúčelné na Julienovu postavu, aj na Korineho pomery. Nie veľmi to však oslabilo môj zážitok z týchto unikátnych diel. Postavu otca je po zhliadnutí filmu úplne nemožné nečítať s Herzogovým prízvukom.

[Lord Battle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

I highly recommend fans of Harmony Korine check out "Collected Screenplays 1" as I'm sure it will highlight him as a much more rounded artist. For years I had been under the impression that Harmony would write loose scripts and just cast incredibly interesting actors and discover the film. Wow was I wrong.

And just to be clear. You'll get a good look at the heart of Harmony's work, but he will remain an enigma nonetheless.

[Vic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love with Korine’s introspection and art. The best thing to me is reading his collection and then watching the films. His dark and twisted mind, I don’t need to ask him to clarify anything because it is crystal what he produces.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite directors. this was so cool I've never read a full screenplay before. Super interesting I think julien donkey-boy was the most unusual but I also loved reading gummo because gummo is one of my favourite movies of course

[Pb Gon · Rating 5 out of 5]

We gotta get him to make jokes instead of baby invasion

[Mehmet Mustafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the most important books I’ve ever read and one of the best gifts I’ve ever received

[Folke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lite kul o läsa kanske, men var ju roligare att se filmerna. Synd att Jokes aldrig blev av

[Fred Rocha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The trippy scenes one sees in the movie are as well illustrated by HK's visrtuoso prose.

[melancholinary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jokes is probably his best written work so far.