Review of Gummo (1997) by Samson D — 28 Nov 2011

Gus van Sant said it best. "Venomous in story; genius in character; victorious in structure; teasingly gentle in epilogue; slapstick in theme; rebellious in nature; honest at heart; inspirational in its creation and with contempt at the tip of its tongue, [Gummo] is a portrait of small-town Middle American life that is both bracingly realistic and hauntingly dreamlike.

" Unlike any film I have ever seen, it is an experience that refined what is possible in cinema, at least for me. If you go into this film with an open mind and allow it to really sink in, it will grab you from the (fucking brilliant) opening sequence and keep you transfixed, maybe even just because of it's pure oddity, until the very last frame.

You will laugh: the pure physical comedy or the strange, surreal, one liners delivered by a rag-tag cast of weirdos. You will probably be shocked, most likely disturbed and maybe even offended by some of the horrific, nightmar-ish imagery of small town decay (creepier than any horror film).

You will be profoundly moved by scenes of melancholy that are extremely honest, almost uncomfortably so, while still remaining an air of dream-like anarchy. You might even be moved to the brink of tears by some sequences.

Every film of this frame is noteworthy and stunning for a different reason, barraging you with a constant stream of surreal, yet strangely visceral and alive, emotion. Each time I watch the film, even after seeing it so many times, I still discover new things to love about it.