Gummo (1997)

Lonely residents of a tornado-stricken Ohio town wander the deserted landscape trying to fulfill their boring, nihilistic lives.

Director:

Harmony Korine

Writer:

Harmony Korine

Stars:

Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, Lara Tosh

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jacob Sewell	...	Bunny Boy
Nick Sutton	...	Tummler
Lara Tosh	...	Girl in Car
Jacob Reynolds	...	Solomon
Darby Dougherty	...	Darby
Chloë Sevigny	...	Dot (as Chloe Sevigny)
Carisa Glucksman	...	Helen
Jason Guzak	...	Skinhead #1
Casey Guzak	...	Skinhead #2
Wendall Carr	...	Huntz
James Lawhorn	...	Cowboy #1
James Glass	...	Cowboy #2
Ellen M. Smith	...	Ellen
Charles Matthew Coatney	...	Eddie
Harmony Korine	...	Boy on Couch

Storyline

Constructing this film through random scenes, director Harmony Korine abruptly jettisoned any sort of narrative plot, so here we go: Solomon and Tummler are two bored teenage boys who live in Xenia, Ohio. A few years ago, a tornado swept through it, destroying more than half the town and killing the same amount, including Solomon's father. The film, from there, chronicles the anti-social adventures these two boys have. These include sniffing glue, killing cats, having sex, riding dirtbikes, listening to black metal, and meeting a cavalcade of quirky, bizarre, and scary people. These include a man who pimps his mentally ill wife to our anti-heroes, three sisters who play with their cat and practice becoming strippers, a black midget fending off the sexual advances of a troubled man (played by the director Harmony Korine), a 12-year-old gay transvestite who is also a cat killer, Solomon's mother who seems to be the only glimpse of sanity, two foul-mouthed six-year olds, and most ...

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | sexual abuse | experimental film | cat killer | violence | 

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Taglines:

Prepare to visit a town you'd never want to call home.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive depiction of anti-social behavior of juveniles,including violence, substance abuse,sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the script, Harmony Korine pieced together about seventy sketches he'd written about life in Xenia, Ohio - a locale he had never actually visited.

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Goofs

During the arm wrestling scene, Tummler knocks the beer bottles on the ground to make room on the table. The camera then shifts angles and shows the beer bottles still on the table. When Tummler wins the arm wrestle, the bottles are, again, off the table. Throughout this scene and the next, the beer bottles disappear and reappear on the table.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Solomon: [voiceover] Xenia, Ohio. Xenia, Ohio. A few years ago, a tornado hit this place. It killed the people, left and right. Dogs died. Cats died. Houses were split open, and you could see necklaces hanging from branches of trees. People's legs and neck bones were sticking out. Oliver found a leg on his roof. A lot of people's fathers died, and were killed by the great tornado. I saw a girl fly through the sky, and I looked up her skirt. Her skull was smashed. And some kids died. My ...

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Connections

Featured in Edge Codes.com: The Art of Motion Picture Editing (2004)

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Soundtracks

Schuld Uns'ves Knoch'rigen Falt Pferds
Written by Matton / Landfermann / Bartsch
Performed by Bethlehem
Courtesy of Red Stream Records

User Reviews

Mama told me not to come

Remember when you were in grade school and the weird kids down the block were doing something that looked, well, interesting, and your mom told you to stay away? Did you? Did you ever wonder what it was they were up to down there, behind the garage, in the basement of someone's house, over by the bowling alley?

Rent Gummo and find out. Mama wasn't as stupid as you thought.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1997 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Gummo

Filming Locations:

Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$116,799

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$116,799

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fine Line Features, Independent Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1