Venice 2024: Harmony Korine’s ‘Baby Invasion’ earns an 8.5 minute standing ovation at festival premiere

Harmony Korine's Baby Invasion wows Venice Film Festival with chaotic visuals, pulsating score, and bizarre storyline.

Harmony Korine’s latest experimental film, Baby Invasion, made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday night, receiving an 8.5-minute standing ovation. Korine once again seems to have delivered a sensory overload with this midnight screening with its unique blend of chaotic visuals and a pulsating score by Burial, according to Variety.

Baby Invasion presents a bizarre story, focusing on a group of mercenaries donning baby-faced avatars as they invade the mansions of the wealthy elite. The film plays out like a first-person shooter video game, complete with AI and video game engines driving the experience. The plot, communicated primarily through voiceover, features cryptic references to a white rabbit — a central motif that could symbolize the rich targets or serve as a metaphor for the mercenaries’ journey through the opulent mansions of Florida.

The film’s provocative imagery includes scenes of baby-faced criminals engaged in torture, dancing to thumping techno beats, and wreaking havoc while offering rude gestures from the toilet. The audience seemed to embrace the film’s chaotic energy, with cheers erupting as the credits rolled and Korine danced to the soundtrack. Fans even broke into a chant of “Harmony! Harmony!” as the director acknowledged the enthusiastic response.

Though Baby Invasion may not match the 10-minute ovation Korine received for Aggro Dr1ft in 2023, the film solidified its place as a must-see midnight event at this year’s festival.