1 year ago
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A24VENICE, Italy—For his latest trick—a crime revenge drama set in Miami’s criminal underworld—the arch-provocateur that is Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers) has made, in his own words, a “vibe-based” film, principally shot with thermal infrared technology. Of this movie, Aggro Dr1ft, in which the characters say things like, “The violence is magnetic… I can’t take my eyes off it” and “Dance, bitch, dance. Dance. Dance. Dance, bitch, dance bitch,” Korine has this to say: “We didn’t use a conventional script and there was no written dialogue, just ideas and a basic story.” Oh word?
What story there is in Aggro Dr1ft, which premiered Friday at the Venice Film Festival, centers on a hitman (Travis Scott, grunting in a way that makes Tom Hardy’s Bane sound like Audrey Hepburn) who is in relentless, bloodthirsty pursuit of his mark, a man called Zion (Jordi Mollà). In an inspired piece of characterization, Bo is a sexist, toxic pig who keeps women locked in cages, whereas Zion is a family guy with a wife whose Brazilian Butt Lift is so huge that it causes a bend in the spacetime continuum. What truly different men these are, fighting one another and opining, with various female figures stretching anonymously in the background, rubbing themselves on bed linen and so on!
Clearly, Korine was not interested in normal storytelling here, which must have been exciting for him as a creator but may prove a bit more problematic for the average spectator. Aggro Dr1ft—just writing the title out can obliterate up to 50 brain cells!—is intended as an experience. It certainly is that. (At least for those who stayed; there was a flurry of walkouts at its Venice premiere.)
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