The other day /Film’s Russ Fischer asked “Genius or Garbage?” when discussing the new trailer to Harmony Korine’s new experimental picture, “Trash Humpers.”
He was onto something and possibly easily predicted the divisive response the film is likely going to receive. Some are already in the tank, claiming the trailer — which looked like home video of a trailerpark backyard cookout set in “Deliverance”-like America on meth — was “beautiful” and others think it looks like “dogshit.”
We like Korine (“Mister Lonely” is really underrated), so we’re on the fence, but this new clip over at Indiewire and not embeddable — boo, but surely it’ll spread later in the day, that is, if people really care enough to jack it Update: embed found — is perhaps testing our patience. More grainy, butt-ugly video, this new “clip,” shows two masked “Trash Humpers,” doing just that — humping trash bins as a quiet, perhaps forlorn accomplice looks on in a deserted alley way. That’s it. It’s about a minute long.
While we’re all for demented Korine and lo-fi experiments into the absurd, but we do have our limits. Is the entire “movie” going to be like this? Do we simply need to adjust our expectations and/or need to remind ourselves we’re watching more of an art project that has much different values and qualities than regular, every-day narrative films? Dunno. Is this going to be the most indulgent film of the year? Or will it be lo-art genius? Take a look and tell us what you think.