Mister Lonely (Harmony Korine, 2007)

[sidehacker]

Wait, you get ads that don't have Spike Lee in them? How I envy you.

[montgomery]

Did anyone notice that the sunburn scene (and its aftermath) seemed directly lifted from Fassbinder's Martha? Just an observation.

[origami_mustache]

I saw this back in April...Harmony's Q&A afterwards was far more entertaining than the film, although that is not to say it was bad...thought I'd share my thoughts.



Harmony Korine's latest film is somewhat of a departure from his past work, showing both progression and missteps. It is also his most autobiographical picture. Returning from an 8 year hiatus, Korine litters his new film with fragments of his midlife crisis. I was optimistic after a very strong opening and the always exciting screen presence of Werner Herzog, but the film began to stagger with it's insistence on indiscreet voice over and dialogue along with a few audaciously cheesy scenes including a nun falling from an airplane, and surviving the fall after praying to the lord. Despite these "mistakes" which Harmony claims to love, the film is filled with many memorable and even gorgeous images. The soundtrack consisting of everything from original score by Spaceman and the Sun City Girls, to A Silver Mt. Zion, Spank Rock, and some old blues and folk music is one of the strongest assets. Michael's character played by Diego Luna, laments at not being able to relate to the rest of the world. He sees things differently than others and wants to be someone other than himself. He and his fellow impersonators including Marylin Monroe, played by Samantha Morton, live in a sort of dream-like reality. To parallel this rebellious nonconformity, the commune raises witless sheep who are without the freedom of choice. The main goal of the commune is to build a theater and draw audiences to "share the beauty of the world" with others, although only a few lonely souls show up to watch their performance. I saw his is as another reflection of Korine's struggle to make his mark with his own art. Originally I felt that the more conventional narrative structure of the film was what hindered it the most, however after thinking about it a little more I think Korine is capable of successfully making a conventional narrative. Unfortunately Mister Lonely is much more overt about letting you known what it wants you to feel, as opposed to his first two features which allow for much greater personal reflection through mostly just imagery. I hear people complain that Korine is too cynical or his films are completely nihilistic, but I disagree. I think he just find the beauty in objects or fragmented memories that others see as ugliness. The universal themes of identity, alienation, and spirituality reflect his own personal experiences and struggles. Compared with his past work, Mister Lonely is bubblegum and rainbows. I actually found it to be a fairly optimistic story of a confused man's reintegration into society after living in a fantasy world that turns out to be more nightmare than dream, not much unlike Korine's return to filmmaking.

[Antoine Doinel]

I saw this tonight and I'm really not sure what to say. I loved it - as origami mentions, this is clearly an autobiographical work, and certainly Korine has been through some shit since his last film. It certainly has it's flaws, but Korine does ultimately get his ideas across and in such an audacious manner, I couldn't help but be charmed by this film. It's life-affirming and extraordinarily humbling. It's a love letter to cinema, yet realizes how unimportant it really is. It's funny and heartbreaking. Moreover, I was not a particular Korine fan going into this. I've seen (most of) Kids but avoided anything else he's directed or written simply because it seemed too contrived. And certainly Mister Lonely is build on attention grabbing premise, but becomes something that even transcends the flying nuns, Werner Herzog and commune of impersonators. And that itself, is an extraordinary feat.

And a word of warning -- avoid seeking out the soundtrack until you watch the film as the cover is a gigantic spoiler.

Oh yeah, Diego Luna and Samantha Morton are fantastic in this.

[margot]

I saw this tonight and I'm really not sure what to say. I loved it - as origami mentions, this is clearly an autobiographical work, and certainly Korine has been through some shit since his last film.

What'd you think he was saying with

Spoiler

them crashing and dying anyway? That you can delay death (reality) for only so long before it catches up with you? (Just like how Michael had to face reality by being himself and not someone else, but then he's wearing the mask again on the bike so i was confused)

[Antoine Doinel]

What'd you think he was saying with

Spoiler

them crashing and dying anyway? That you can delay death (reality) for only so long before it catches up with you? (Just like how Michael had to face reality by being himself and not someone else, but then he's wearing the mask again on the bike so i was confused)

For me, the Korine was saying a few things. First, we all create identities for ourselves to protect ourselves from the reality of the real world. Second, those identities are just as much a part of who we are as the "real" us. They can't be separated but only understood together. Overall, I think what Korine is trying to say is that our time here is brief and insignificant and all we can hope to do is create or do something beautiful in that time. And it sound trite typing it out, but Korine's gift is in making themes interlock with it out coming off as simplistic. It's quite a balancing act he pulls it off with great aplomb.

[Oedipax]

I finally watched this tonight. Despite following the film through its development and buying the DVD immediately upon release (it never reached theaters here), there was something in the back of my mind telling me it was going to be a disappointment somehow. It's only since viewing the trailer and excerpts from Trash Humpers - which immediately worked for me on the same level as his pre-Lonely work - that I felt like I could risk being let down by this one.

And I was.

I didn't exactly hate the film, but it's certainly the low point of his work so far, exchanging most of what makes his films interesting for... what, exactly? I'm not sure. More formally polished (complete with tracking shots and CGI), this is easily his most visually bland film with only the Panama/nun segments really ever coming to life. I can't believe how underused Denis Lavant was; in fact, only Samantha Morton really stood out for me. Really, the film is so much less than the sum of its parts (the concept, the actors involved, the locations, etc) that it's truly shocking. My best guess is that the project simply gestated for too long as Korine secured all the necessary funding and undertook what had to be some pretty extensive pre-production work. It's a great idea but done too slowly and deliberately; it doesn't hold up to all the scrutiny and its essence isn't benefitted by making it such a (relatively) high-end production.

[hot_locket]

It's funny, but I think the one scene from the film that stuck with me the most was a deleted scene with Denis Lavant. The DVD had a good 40 minutes or so of unused material, but the scene I'm talking about was simply a tracking shot pulling in on him in a corner, swearing and muttering to himself like a madman. In fact, if I'm remembering correctly, a good deal of the unused material was more engaging than much of the final product itself.