Review of Gummo (1997) by Xuan P — 07 Mar 2009

This is perhaps not a movie in the literal sense, but a work of art all on to itself --not belonging to any category in particular. It could be painting, a song, a poem, a massive sculpture, but it just happens to have been captured on film.

There isn't really much of a story to it (aside form the black cat plot), but it's not like it needs it anyway. In Gummo there a scenes of true beauty and horror; some just seem drawn out of somebody's deep-buried chest of shameful secrets, and then there are some that just don't seem to belong anywhere.

At moments I felt baffled by the rawness of a certain shot or clip, and subsequently I found myself laughing my head off as if I were watching some cartoon. Gummo could be called an excerise in hyper-semi-realism --or something like that.

I don't know. But one thinig is for sure: It's definitely something...odd... but interesting.