and the Netherlands. The film grossed $85,400 domestically and $7,042 in other countries for a worldwide total of $92,442. Critical reception Julien Donkey-Boy currently holds a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Director Harmony Korine takes a big stylistic swing that will miss with most audiences, producing an unfocused and mean-spirited art film with a bitter aftertaste." The film has a weighted average score of 52/100 on Metacritic based on 23 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Empire Magazine said that "Despite some creditable performances, Korine's bizarre, shambling direction renders the result less ground-breakingly experimental than rectum-numbingly dull." Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "A self-indulgent mess." Despite a sense of negative reaction to Julien Donkey-Boy, it was praised by some critics. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, saying the film attained a "depth of compassion and understanding ... [it] acquires a spiritual dimension that allows it ultimately to become an act of redemption". Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly awarded the film a score of B+, describing the film as "an exciting artistic leap", while writing that "Korine — working with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who shot the Dogma breakthrough The Celebration — discovers visual ways to convey emotional terrain that will serve him well, I hope, even after he outgrows shock as an artistic goal." Additional praise for the film came from Chicago Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert, who gave the film 3/4 stars, saying that "[The film] adds up to something, unlike a lot of movies where individual shots are sensational, but they add up to nothing"; Ebert did, however, note that the film had a very limited audience: "The odds are good that most people will dislike this film and be offended by it. For others, it will provoke sympathy rather than scorn. You know who you are". References External links 1999 films 1999 drama films American drama films Films directed by Harmony Korine Camcorder films Dogme 95 films Films about dysfunctional families Works about dysfunctional families Films set in New York (state) Films shot in New York (state) Incest in film American independent films 1999 independent films Fictional portrayals of schizophrenia 1990s English-language films 1990s American films