There have been many discussions about Gummo. The biggest point of these debates is the meaning of the film. Some brush it off as a collage of random imagery, sounds, scenes and character interactions. Others have miscategorized it as some type of mockumentary of Midwest/Southern lower income culture. However, the artistic factor of this movie reminds me of a Salvador Dali painting, where one can get lost in the details and miss the very explicit message being relayed. So what message or thesis is this film trying to deliver?
Simply, Gummo is about loss of control, how we react to this loss, and various mechanisms we use to cope with the loss or regain a sense of control. In a society in which all things are relative to man, elements are pretty much controllable. However, when an event happens that takes control and certainty away, many find themselves in disarray and shock. In this movie, Harmony explores how different characters are going to react to the loss of control and certainty. Some will survive, some will capitalize, some have seen it before, some will fantasize, some will be in denial, some will try to regain control, some with find something or someone else to control and some will mourn and reminisce.
First is the tornado. The tornado is an event, at the macro level, that takes control away from everyone. So in essence, everyone starts at ground zero. Now if the tornado represents the element that takes control away, then the bunny boy represents the "general response" to it as well as a symbol of false hope. The biggest clue of this theme is the scene where bunny boy is filmed on the overpass. The overpass/storm represents the controlling elements and bunny boy is the one that is being controlled and goes through the various stages of being incarcerated. Anyone who has taken a psychology or field biology class can recognize the behavior bunny boy exhibits, as if he was trapped. Harmony cleverly attaches the song, 'My little rooster' by Almeda Riddle to sonically wrap the scene as a element of reminiscing, remembering something that is familiar back to a time of "normalcy" where the norm was having control of your environment and your situation. Bunny boy is injected at various points through out the film when these reactions/responses take place.
The first scene of Tummler is when he is drowning a cat. It is very significant because the cat is killed in such a way that it minimizes physical trauma for (as we learn later) higher marketability of Tummler's "product".
The scene then cuts to Tummler making out with a girl that has a lump in her breast, which might be cancer. Again, like the tornado, the possible cancerous tumor is a symbol of something that is taking control away from us.
The scene with Dot and her sister/friend(s) illustrates their response to having control taken away from them by expressing their sexuality. Harmony brilliantly uses music to shade this scene of gaining back control with something that reminds us of youth and the eventual uncertainty of adulthood, where you have exceeded your past, but you are not yet at your future. This theme is enhanced with them bouncing on the beds and the contrast of age with Buddy Holly's song, "Everyday".
The skinheads scene illustrates frustration disguised as play. We think they are just horsing around but there is real frustration/anger in those punches. At this point of the film, I feel empathy for them because they are at an ambiguous point of progress if there is any in their eyes. The only metric they have to work with is pain and its magnitude.
We now learn Tummler's and Solomon's reason and response to the tornado is survival (killing and selling cats) and denial (sniffing glue). So far this response has worked well but they have a potential new source of control being taken away and that source is their new competitor, Jarrod Wigley.
The next scene is a classical discussion on race, when it is easy to blame another race for one's sorrows, when the real culprit is being unprepared for life's events.
The junkyard scene re-illustrates the response of frustration, anger and ignorance. Bunny boy plays along with the cowboy kids and ends up playing dead. What bunny boy does is give the cowboy kids a false and temporary sense of control. Thus, the situation is mitigated (for now) and really bunny boy is the one that has control because he controls the boys' expectations and delivers a false result. One can extrapolate this scene to the life-cycle of a politician.
The scene with Ellen and Eddie represents the response of moving on as usual and moving forward, but Eddie does not have full control due to ADD. This scene is the response of quantifying and formalizing the unknown, which takes away control. We now have a face for this particular source and regain some control and certainty of the situation.
The scene with Harmony is about grieving and the sense of loss as a response/reaction. This scene particular takes me back to the film "Easy Rider" where Peter Fonda's character is at a cemetery, crying in lap of a female statue. According to Dennis Hopper, this scene was about grieving for lost liberties and the statue represented "Lady Liberty" and Fonda was distressed about those losses.
Solomon and Tummler's tries to maintain survivability by confronting Jarrod Wigley, their main competitor only to realize that Jarrod is killing cats so he and his grandmother can survive (this escalates through out the film). We also learn that Jarrod, like Dot, tries to regain control via his sexuality.
This transitions to Cassidey being pimped out by Cole where he capitalizes on other people's misfortunes and insecurities.
As the film progresses, Solomon and Tummler are killing cats more harshly as the value of this behavior become less about economic trade and more of a psychological outlet. Harmony drops more hints with talks of suicide, depression, scape-goating others, etc.
The scene with Solomon and his mom compares and contrasts with the reaction of reminiscing of a better time to the reaction of surviving and utilizing what is left over from the destruction (Solomon using silverware for weights). Again, music is strategically used. Madonna's "Like a Prayer" compliments this scene very subtlety.
In he next scene, Tummler goes from survival mode to reminiscing with his dad and then takes a reprieve by having fun with friends and family only to witness that the other people's fun turns back to frustration, similar to the scene with the skinheads. For me, this is a very emotional pull because everyone is trying to make the best of a bad situation, but the situation is just too strong that it over takes the good.
The movie continues on with various scenes that retouches a lot of these subjects and leads us to a pivotal scene. We are now at the part where Dot and her sisters are looking for their cat, Foot Foot. They are tricked getting into some middle-aged man's car, who claims that he knows where their cat is. He establishes his credentials as an authority figure and then tries to molest the girls. The girls react in survival mode and fend off the pedophile. However, they are angry because the one thing they have control of, their sexuality, was almost taken away. So once again, the characters try to recoup some control only to lose it to something bigger than themselves.
We revisit the theme of capitalizing on people in a time of distress with the twins and the candy bar.
Now at the end, the girls make out with bunny boy (false hope) to regain a sense of control of their sexuality. This illustrates any given person in such dire straights, will unconditionally latch on to anything that gives them a sense of hope. They embrace it and make it an intimate part of their lives just to get back to a sense of certainty and control. Solomon and Tummler kill Foot Foot, the cat, not for business, but for the sake of asserting there sense of control and the satisfaction that comes with it. The human has now become the tornado and the cat has become the person. Thus, bunny boy appears holding the dead Foot Foot as a symbolic juxtaposition that brings up a question that has already been answered, "Is asserting unnecessary control the same as accepting false hope?" Unfortunately, the answer is, "yes".
The End
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"A Surrealist can create the work of an Abstractionist, but an Abstractionist cannot create the work of a Surrealist."
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Gummo [DVD]
Nick Sutton
(Actor),
Jacob Sewell
(Actor),
Harmony Korine
(Director, Writer)
&
0
more Rated: Format: DVD
R
IMDb6.6/10.0
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Genre | Kids & Family |
Format | NTSC, Color, DVD, Widescreen, Closed-captioned |
Contributor | James Lawhorn, Wendall Carr, Jason Guzak, Harmony Korine, James Glass, Nick Sutton, Jacob Reynolds, Darby Dougherty, Casey Guzak, Carisa Glucksman, Lara Tosh, Chlo Sevigny, Jacob Sewell See more |
Language | English |
Runtime | 1 hour and 29 minutes |
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Product Description
From Harmony Korine, screenwriter of Kids, comes a haunting portrait of life in small-town America. Through a collection of dreamlike and devastating images, Korine offers a glimpse of Xenia, Ohio, a world existing in the aftermath of a tornado.
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.2 ounces
- Director : Harmony Korine
- Media Format : NTSC, Color, DVD, Widescreen, Closed-captioned
- Run time : 1 hour and 29 minutes
- Release date : March 20, 2001
- Actors : Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, Lara Tosh, Jacob Reynolds, Darby Dougherty
- Language : Unqualified (DTS ES 6.1)
- Studio : New Line Home Video
- ASIN : B000059HA8
- Writers : Harmony Korine
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #66,966 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #11,263 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2011
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2024
My husband and I watch all kinds of movies and this one takes the cake for strange. Everything arrived intact and in great working order.
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2005
So many wonderful moments... The first time I watched 'Gummo' is permanently etched into my mind. It was one of those rare and incredible sensory experiences that stay with you. Like the first time you hear `Bitches Brew' or see `Requiem For A Dream'. `Gummo' is not your typical Hollywood film; its non-linear flow really turns some people off. Not every film needs a cogent story arc. `Gummo' is more a series of vignettes and unique characters, filmed beautifully by Jean-Yves Escoffier. He viewed white-trash suburbia (outer Memphis) through foreign eyes as if it was a third-world country or an alien landscape. It is presented to the viewer lovingly here. The retarded, mullets, and the disturbed denizens of Xenia, Ohio are beautifully combined in a surreal stew of glaring reality. At times, `Gummo' has the feel of a documentary (possibly it is). There are few `proper' actors in this film and that definitely adds to the charm. Korine claims to have assembled most of his cast in approximately 45 minutes from Memphis Burger Kings and Laundromats. Nick Sutton (Tummler) was discovered by Harmony on a talk show that pertained to `paint-sniffing survivors'- he commented that anyone who can survive copious amounts of inhalants must have a good constitution and that those were the kinds of people he wanted to work with.
Much has been made of the shocking nature of this film. But really how shocking are animal abuse, inhalant intoxication, and the exploitation of the retarded? It was all simulated (probably not the inhalant usage though) for this film. These things happen every day. Korine has a knack for letting the camera naturally flow places it has likely never been. There is an indescribable aura permeating virtually every frame of this wondrous creation. It is one of my favorite movies.
What is `Gummo' about? Korine basically follows Tummler & Solomon (Nick Sutton & Jacob Reynolds); two lost teenage boys as they go about the business of amusing themselves, having milkshakes, and staying sane in Xenia, Ohio. This is facilitated by indulging in inhalants, purchased with money obtained from selling dead cats to an unscrupulous store owner who then sells the felines to a Chinese restaurant. The camera also follows Helen, Darby, and Dot. Dot is played beautifully by Korine's girlfriend at the time, Chloe Sevigny who also handled the wardrobe for this movie. By the way, you will undoubtedly see some of the best dressed people ever in this film (and let us not forget the spectacular display of mullets).
A number of scenes from this one-of-a-kind film will stay with you long after watching it. The soundtrack is another highlight, for it is one of the best I have ever heard. The movie really wouldn't be the same without the exquisite soundtrack which includes Sleep's `Dragonaut', Buddy Holly, Ray Orbison, Brujera, Eyehategod, and other delights.
I can't recommend this movie to all. If you prefer big budget Hollywood fare and linear narrative, then please steer clear of this amazing film. However, if you are adventurous, artistic, and fascinated by the human animal in its natural habitat, then by all means see this incredible film.
Much has been made of the shocking nature of this film. But really how shocking are animal abuse, inhalant intoxication, and the exploitation of the retarded? It was all simulated (probably not the inhalant usage though) for this film. These things happen every day. Korine has a knack for letting the camera naturally flow places it has likely never been. There is an indescribable aura permeating virtually every frame of this wondrous creation. It is one of my favorite movies.
What is `Gummo' about? Korine basically follows Tummler & Solomon (Nick Sutton & Jacob Reynolds); two lost teenage boys as they go about the business of amusing themselves, having milkshakes, and staying sane in Xenia, Ohio. This is facilitated by indulging in inhalants, purchased with money obtained from selling dead cats to an unscrupulous store owner who then sells the felines to a Chinese restaurant. The camera also follows Helen, Darby, and Dot. Dot is played beautifully by Korine's girlfriend at the time, Chloe Sevigny who also handled the wardrobe for this movie. By the way, you will undoubtedly see some of the best dressed people ever in this film (and let us not forget the spectacular display of mullets).
A number of scenes from this one-of-a-kind film will stay with you long after watching it. The soundtrack is another highlight, for it is one of the best I have ever heard. The movie really wouldn't be the same without the exquisite soundtrack which includes Sleep's `Dragonaut', Buddy Holly, Ray Orbison, Brujera, Eyehategod, and other delights.
I can't recommend this movie to all. If you prefer big budget Hollywood fare and linear narrative, then please steer clear of this amazing film. However, if you are adventurous, artistic, and fascinated by the human animal in its natural habitat, then by all means see this incredible film.
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2022
Ordered a DVD and I received the correct movie and received when expected. Couldn't have been any smoother.
Top reviews from other countries
Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Parfait
Reviewed in France on December 5, 2023
Parfait
Vicente Baos Vicente
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gummo
Reviewed in Spain on March 23, 2014
Gran película. La versión esperpéntica de la realidad. Cruel e irónica. Una gran obra de un gran director. Plas plas
John Nicoll
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gummo uk format
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2013
If your looking for this film in uk format , this is the one to go for, have been looking for a copy of this film ever since I rented it on a whim in VHS format approx 15 years ago. Was a bit anxious when the film arrived and the wrapping was French but just choose English for the language option and its fine . Obviously the film remains the same as the one I saw 15 yrs ago , but somehow has lost some of the shock that I felt on watching the first time. Is that a reflection of the times we live in ? It probably is........
Ok its a bit pricey but I haven't seen it anywhere else in UK format so, buy , enjoy, accept, have faith that we can reflect the inevitability that this is our future. Good Luck, and where can you buy those rabbit ears?
Ok its a bit pricey but I haven't seen it anywhere else in UK format so, buy , enjoy, accept, have faith that we can reflect the inevitability that this is our future. Good Luck, and where can you buy those rabbit ears?
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Max
5.0 out of 5 stars
As these reviews prove, you either love it or you hate it
Reviewed in Canada on November 8, 2001
I saw Gummo a week ago and I can't get its images out of my mind. Every scene was startling, funny, and/or disturbing in one way or another. As I see it, all of the the people in this town in Ohio were victims of a tornado; it ripped through their lives and left them full of anger but with nothing to pin that anger on. And so they vent by shooting at cats--and then whipping the corpses--or by wrestling a chair (that bizarre scene on its own is worth the price of the movie), or through child abuse, or shooting a kid with a cap gun, among other things. I think director Korrine is ultimately sympathetic with his characters because he shows them as pathetic and vulnerable (eg, kids shivering in the rain). The moments which are shocking are balanced by moments which are sublime and poetic. I would recommend it highly to anyone who appreciates the off-beat.
Station Kepler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cultisme!
Reviewed in France on January 24, 2023
Ce film américain de 1997 est une grande bizarrerie avec des ados dans une ambiance à l’esprit grunge. Vraiment cultissime!