The first American Dogma film, echoing the movement's central impulse, argues that facing a deformed reality is better than chasing slick falsehoods; this is a film about making peace with imperfection. Arthouse whizzkid Korine crosscuts his narrative between a graceful ice skater on television with a running scenario involving an armless man who's adjusted to life (he plays the drums with his feet!) and with a much less-than-perfect family: Sister Pearl is getting ready to give birth. Brother Chris trains for wrestling, to "be a winner," driven by the demons of his tyrannical father, who mourns the loss of his wife and his own failures. A constant reminder of the latter is Julien, his mentally-handicapped son, who joyfully meanders through life muttering confident nonsense. Stylistically, this is a more experimental Dogma: grainy video, choppy cutting, collage sequences, extremely disturbing elements of plot and imagery make it less immediately accessible, but a persistent framing of questions in theological terms make it worth wrestling with, such as when Julien's support group discusses why God has given them handicaps and what he wants from them.

julien donkey-boy is part of the "Dogma For Beginners" emphasis of the Featured Screenings program at Flickerings at Cornerstone Festival, July 2-5, 2003.

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