Venice audiences stayed up late to take drugs and play video games with Harmony Korine.
The midnight premiere of Korine's latest film, Invasion of childrengave the festival a full dose of the video game/cinema mash-up that Korine pioneered AGRGO DR1FTthat hit Venice last year. And he seemed to like it.
The audience in the Great Hall roared and cheered throughout the 80-minute experimental film, shot without a script but with layers and layers of CGI and video game-inspired imagery, plus a pounding soundtrack by British EDM producer Burial, whom Korine, in the pre-film press conference, said he had only encountered through communication via Discord and Sony PlayStation.
The plot, to the extent that one can use that term, involves an immersive video game called Baby Invasion that has become a real-life phenomenon, a dark web-ish group called Duck Mobb, and a whole lot of home invasions. In our review, The Hollywood ReporterJordan Mintzer called the film “both shocking and insensitive,” noting that “viewers will likely either tune out or be distracted.”
The Venice audience, at least, seemed excited. After the credits, they rose to their feet for a standing ovation. Korine dropped the devil mask he wore for AGGRO DR1FT in favor of a green-striped sports jacket, which he tossed away when the applause began, walking forward to greet the crowd, urging them to continue applauding. He was joined at the premiere by his friend, French director Gaspar Noé, whose contributions to Invasion of children have been described as “mysterious”.
It is not clear how Invasion of children will be released after the premiere at the festival. AGRGO DR1FT skipped the traditional theatrical route, with Korine opting to show it in various strip clubs instead. The director said he hasn't decided how he'll move it Invasion of childrenexcept to say that the version screened here in Venice is only the “base layer” of what the project will become.