Art films(or in this case Indie)are always a mix bag for me. Some can be powerful and meaningful, while others can just be pointless showcases for a director to try out new tricks with cameras,light, etc. For me, Gummo falls into the later group.
Gummo is a mixed up film about the lifes of people in a town, before and after a Toronto hits. The citizens are shown in interviews,flashbacks,real time,or in random cuts. Theres really no real main character in Gummo, thou a pair of mixed up pre/teens show up the most could be labeled as such. Everyone is shown as real person and the whole film has a documentary look and feel to it.
Tho the setup might sound like a great art movie, this movie is anything but great. Maybe i missed the point, But nothing about Gummo was enjoyable to watch. I like fake documentaries as much as the next guy,but most have a point to them and nowhere as many issues. This one has 2 main ones that will turn most viewers off in 5 mins.
The first and pretty much biggest issue is who the hell am i supposed to feel for. The 2 main kids are troubled, but they seem fine with whipping dead cats hanging from trees. The 2 sisters are good spirited but act like whores and all the grown ups are treated like perverts.
And the second was the pointless of the story. Instead of showing a message,other then life is dark and sucks, it just shows us fuck ups in society that would make most viewers vomit. It's as if the director is trying to be deep by showing us that. I don't need to see 10 mins of animal violence, or old lady shooting, or hell nipple taping. Everything is thrown at the viewer from incest,homosexuality,death,rape, and random acts of violence, and not to to deepen the story but to be show stoppers. There not shown to make us feel for them but to hate them. Now maybe I'm missing something but how does that spell out a good film or statement? Does the director want me to believe that life is ugly and not worth living? or is this movie just a freak show where it should be a caring, warmer film? Just by questioning the movie this much I'm giving it to much credit.
Gummo was just a ugly movie that leaves you bored,mad and sick of the world. You get the feeling the director just wants you to go fuck your shelf and his art.If you like murdering cats and taping your nipples, then Gummo is for you. If not Stay far away from this film.
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