Harmony Korine's SPRING BREAKERS: Party 'til You Die

Spring Breakers (2013)
Director: Harmony Korine
Writer: Harmony Korine
Cast: Ashley Benson, James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine, Gucci Mane
Website: Spring Breakers Official Website

In Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, shaman-like OG Alien (James Franco) utters the mantra "spring break forever" in an ethereal tone that echoes throughout the film. His words are the lynchpin between two colliding yet converging worlds. The participants in those worlds are each living a fantasy life with a fast approaching expiration date; the difference is that one group has the ability to escape that world whenever they chose, while the other is trapped by circumstance.

College friends Faith (Gomez), Candy (Hudgens), Brit (Benson), and Cotty (Korine), a group of pretty blondes (and one brunette), are a few dollars short to make it down south to St. Petersburg, Florida for Spring Break. The obvious solution is rob a local restaurant for the loot, one performed with aplomb by the ennui-stricken girls. Each is looking for a life changing experience among the partying crowds of the beaches and clubs, and find a world ready to embrace their pent up emotions and lust for ACTION. When they land in jail after a drug raid, Alien bails them out and takes the enthusiastic crew on a violent voyage into his world of hustling, guns, and drugs.

A superficial look at Korine's multi-layered film would have you believe this is just a Girls Gone Wild video taken to the utmost extremes. That couldn't be more inaccurate. Sure, the film is filled from beginning to end with tanned naked bodies, rampant drug use, and violence, but peeling those layers reveals an affecting examination of intersecting cultural, economic, and existential themes. The film is actually a rather complicated piece of filmmaking once those conversation threads are breached.

College kids descend like a plague upon communities like St. Petersburg, stripping the towns to the bone. Conversely, these communities are dependent upon a tourism trade that requires them to look the other way as privileged young adults yearning for "freedom" or "release" do so under a veil of perceived consequence-free debauchery. On the outskirts lie the people born and raised in those communities whose only chance of survival is in benefiting from the destruction. Like the four horsemen of the apocalypse, our four young protagonists - deemed "special" by Alien - penetrate the fringes where people like Alien and his rival Archie (Gucci Mane) battle for control of the illicit profits and the infinite perpetuation of gangster culture. This subculture is now in danger of succumbing to the same fate that befell the city around it.

Disney star Gomez as the wholesome Faith is the only character given any sort of depth, and for a reason. Her character is the only one with plans for genuine soul-searching. She, however, heads home quickly when things get too uncomfortable. The rest of the characters live in a state of arrested development, opting instead to take Alien literally on his offer to live like it's Spring Break forever. Already having it all, they now want Alien's lifestyle - a house full of guns and money - because nothing else could possibly be fulfilling. As he puts it, "this is the American dream".

The interchangeability of the remaining female characters plays into Korine's challenges to pop culture and its rotating cast of used child stars, co-opted culture (hip-hop in particular), and other forms of throw-away exploitation. His casting of child-stars Gomez and Hudgens, as well as running tributes to Brittney Spears serves to drive his point that innocence is not only lost, but it's been taken out back behind a shed, shot in the head, and buried in an unmarked grave while the next "big thing" is trumpeted just above the freshly buried corpse.

Part of what makes Spring Breakers fascinating is the sumptuous visuals provided by Benoit Debie (Irreversible) who contrasts the frenetic party scenes with periods of wondrous beauty. This can be shots of the setting sun on a beach, or just the image of the four girls playfully contorting their bodies in silhouette against the walls of narrow hallways and breezeways. These are the moments when the characters feel most human with a world truly open to possibility. These moments are also fleeting...

The scenes of violence employed by Korine may seem over-the-top, but it's a clever way to subvert expectations. These girls  commit crimes without remorse or fear, believing that they do, indeed, rule the world. They do so brazenly, right in the faces of their victims, believing every second that they are invincible. In this extreme and satirical way, Korine is contrasting their behavior with that of politicians, corporations, entertainers, and the like that anonymously do the same. These are the children of those so-called leaders who will grow up to replace them in their pursuit of money, money, money. Think of Spring Break as depicted here an internship for the larger crimes surely to characterize their career trajectory.

Spring Breakers Trailer

127 Hours: Gorgeous and Harrowing Triumph of the Will

127 Hours (2010)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Written by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (based on the book by Aron Ralston)

While I'm not totally in love with all his work, I'm a huge fan of Danny Boyle as a person and artist. In countless interviews he comes across as one of the most positive and forward thinking filmmakers working today. His enthusiasm for his work and life is contagious, and I'm often left feeling giddy after listening to him. If there is one common theme in most of Boyle's work, it is the triumph of regular people over extreme adversity. If that's true, then 127 Hours is the pentultimate example in a varied career that ranges from the post-apocalyptic horror of 28 Days Later to the morality play of Millions. Each of his unique films are linked by this one common element, but 127 Hours is the one that shouts it loudest and clearest.

Based on a true story, 127 Hours chronicles the frightening yet uplifting story of Aron Ralston, an adventurous but self-centered canyoneer who was trapped in a canyon for over five days when his arm became lodged between a rock wall and a fallen boulder. To  pass time and spare his sanity, Aron videotapes messages to his friends and family while attempting formerly simple, but now challenging tasks with the use of only one arm. As he exhausts himself with futile efforts, he realizes with horror that there's only one way to get free. Ralston narrowly escapes starvation and the elements by amputating his right arm.

Boyle's challenge was to recreate the event in what amounts to 90 minutes of one actor standing in the same narrow space for the duration of the film. Luckily, he cleverly keeps things moving in ways that only Boyle can, with stunning photography, moving performances, and the ability to experiment to enhance the film experience. As with his other films, there is truly a feeling of being transported to this particular place at this particular time, suffering along with our hero. We are aware of his physical body, and at the same time, allowed into his wandering and fragmenting mind.

Despite some major limitations, Boyle keeps things interesting by interspersing moments of hallucinations, dreams, and other filmic embodiments of the inner turmoil within Aron's mind. He is slowly losing grasp, and in his lucid moments, feels great regret for some decisions he's made in his life. He relives key moments in which taking a different path may have led him to a better place. Here, Boyle flirts a little with the idea of fate, whether we are at the mercy of our own personal choices, or merely the influence of outside forces. Ultimately, Aron figures out that he's in control of his own destiny and must face the fact that no one, not a rescue team or a god, is going to save him.

Perhaps the biggest reason for success is found in the casting of James Franco who was the perfect choice to play Aron. The underrated actor is certainly up to the task. Appearing in virtually every scene, he commands your attention and brings real pathos to the role. Franco has a charisma that was evident from his beginnings as bad boy Daniel Desario on Freaks and Geeks, but more fully utilized here in what will most likely be an award-winning role. Every grimace of pain, tear of anquish, and cry of joy feels genuine. It's evident that Franco spent a lot of time getting in the right frame of mind by conversing with the real Ralston, as well as reaching within himself to bring out raw feelings.

You probably want to know about the amputation scene: I will let you know that the amputation scene is every bit excruciating as you might imagine. The special effects, brought to us by Tony Gardner at Alterian Studios, have been exhaustively rendered. It almost looks like one is watching a documentary on rudimentary surgery. Another reason why the scene is so harrowing is the addition of effective sound design that penetrates in such a way as to cause additional stress in the viewer. As if we weren't already on edge.

One final note: There's a bit of conflict between a key realization in the film and the theme of individual triumph. I believe one of the overall messages of the film is that it's ok to ask for help. However, it is solely by individual effort that Aron gets out of his terrifying situation. Perhaps Boyle was exorcising his own demons and owning up to past mistakes. Maybe asking for help before you get stuck in the canyon is the overarching theme. In that regard, the film may actually be about trusting in others whether it's making a movie, exploring canyons, or solving a family problem. That would reconcile the two, in my opinion.

127 Hours is certainly one of the best films of the year and more than worth your time in the theater to fully experience the sheer power and beauty. Go see it if you have the chance!

127 Hours Trailer