Harmony Korine.
Director. Producer. Screenwriter. Author. Occasional Actor.

Harmony Korine has been one of my favourite directors since being introduced to his work on Kids (1995) by Larry Clark, almost 4 years ago. He has written and directed a numerous amount of obscure and chaotic films, as well as acted and authored many other projects. He has a style that is easily recognizable and personal, from the way he vibrantly colours his images to the themes that he focuses on, paired with unique and abstract shots and trippy soundtracks.

For those that don't know, Korine, is the man responsible for Kids (1995), Spring Breakers (2012), Gummo (1997), Trash Humpers (2009) and Mister Lonely (2007). He's created Zines and compiled them into a book. Produced music videos for the likes of Sonic Youth. Created advertisements for Dior and finally hosted many exhibitions featuring his art work.

Korine isn’t afraid to push the boundaries and show what shouldn’t be shown. His visuals are often graphic and out there, for example Gummo (1997) features images of dead cats and disabled sex workers. He paints very vivid imagery for his audience and doesn’t worry about making them feel awkward, which is often the case.

With his ability to be brave with his work, it allows him to show the reality. He is able to give the audience a real and true depiction of American culture. He did so in Kids (1995) with his skater kids losing their virginity in drug fuelled house parties and later in Spring Breakers (2012) with his band of girls doing drugs with strangers in their bikinis. He could quite easily be named as the voice of a generation, even if it only shows one side of a generation.


(Harmony Korine and Justin Pierce, behind the scenes while filming “Kids”)

When focusing on a director, you notice trends in their creations. Tim Burton has Johnny Depp, Wes Anderson has bright colours and Harmony Korine has Nashville, unknown casts, improvised narratives and a lack of structure. I feel like these things and a combination of the other elements he features in his work, are what makes him so attractive to his 'indie' or 'alternative' audience.

What attracts me to Korine, is his mind-set. He has a way of shooting films that most directors probably want to exile him for. I feel like with the exception of Spring Breakers, which clearly had a linear structure, he mostly just... creates. There doesn't have to be any structure, story-line, narrative or meaning, it just is what it is. I feel like this is what makes his work so unique and visually appealing because he fully allows himself that freedom of just creating.

As a person who makes short films for fun, Korines mind-set really inspires and influences me. I feel like I truly appreciate art and life, therefore I understand that not everything has to have meaning. Much like in the film American Beauty (1999), where the protagonist Ricky is filming a plastic bag or birds, there is no meaning, it just is and it is beautiful.



As a huge fan of Korine's, I have watched a wide array of interviews involving him. From the ones where he was younger and generally just fucked around to the ones of today where his mind seems more focused and professional, yet still unusual.

In one particular interview, we see Korine do a 'mind-map' trick. This is where he thinks of a bunch of words and then tries to link them all together in some way to create a story. I thought that this personally was genius and was something that summarized his whole personal and professional way of thinking.

Korine, is definitely not a character for everyone and his films do attract a certain type of audience. If you are into the more arty side of life and truly understand cinema or are generally just genuinely open-minded then I feel Harmony Korine is the director for you and his movies might provide you with a new and wider perspective on life.

Although Korine has been working in the industry for literally as long as I have been alive, the best is yet to come. It's predicted that in 2015 he's going to be getting more lime-light than ever, especially with his upcoming movie The Trap which stars Jamie Foxx.

As Korine is getting older and perhaps more mature, so is his work. It would be interesting to see what route he decides to go down as a director/writer. He is a man with a good deal of influence over the younger generation and I feel like as his work is becoming much more serious he definitely has the ability to produce something influential which could perhaps hugely affect his audience. He seems to a very unique, but shared, view of the world and I think it would be kind of good if that shows through his work in the future.

Whatever Korine does next though, it’s sure to be filmed majestically, scored perfectly and directed wonderfully