The Rise of A24 - Spring Breakers (2013) and Kids (1995)

The season finale of our Rise of A24 series starts at the beginning, Harmony Korine's neon maximalist Spring Breakers (2013) as well as his first big break as the writer of Kids (1995).

Problematic doesn't begin to describe the mid 1990s molotov cocktail of Kids. Harmony Korine was a skateboard kid in New York City when the nearly 50 year old Larry Clark discovered him. However improbable, a partnership sparked and they were able to pull off this cinéma véritésque screed. Bracketing out the more improprietous and probably illegal aspects of the partnership between Korine and Clark, the film depicts a dystopian kaleidoscope of violence, sex, and teenage anarchy. Most of this piercing honesty came from Korine, but Clark definitely helped to make sure that dogmatic authenticity was captured on celluloid, for better or worse. It is hard to imagine the chic iconoclasts of A24 even considering distribution for Kids. It is much too raw, even for them.

Thus we got Spring Breakers in 2013 from Korine as a director. Style over substance is a badge of honor for Harmony. The vibe here is vibz. The four young ladies at the center of the story are mere playthings for Korine's blissed out polemic against some mirage of Americanism. This is perhaps the paradigm of A24 films: stylemaxxing with ponderous writing, an infinity pool of depth. While A24 has distributed and produced great films, their reputation was solidified early on with Spring Breakers, a provocative and vaccous montage.

As A24 is now attempting to become a mid-major studio, it is startling to look back at their beginnings. For at least half a decade in the mid 2010s, it seemed as those A24 was forging a new path in filmmaking: the high commerce of high art. Alas they could not contain themselves as their creative courage begat commercial victory. Nowadays, they seem a bit like the trust fund kid who went to Sarah Lawrence, a bit eccentric, but bourgeoise all the same.