Super-8 auteur Jonathan Caouette, a young gay man with an extremely turbulent life, reveals his troubled childhood through home-movies and stills. The worshipful son of a beautiful ex-child model/single mother/electro-shock recipient, Caouette manages, in surprisingly linear fashion considering the circumstances, to paint a vivid portrait of the ultimate dysfunctional family. His grandparents, who ended up adopting Jonathan after his mother was jailed and he went through the horrors of the foster care system, are revealed as loving yet unconcerned older folks with perhaps a secretive, defensive side; Jonathan's mother Renee, once a striking young woman, is the sad result of "medical expertise" gone shatteringly wrong. The film is alternately assaultive, theatrical (Jonathan revealed a highly acute sense of theatricality and love for outré movies at a very young age), amusing, narcissistic, boring, compelling and, finally, quite moving. There are just as many stretches of questionable sincerity on Caouette's part as there are exhilarating moments--a joyous romp on the beach with mom or a beautiful, revealing childhood lip-synching take on "Frank Mills". The alt-rock soundtrack is superb and Caouette, a handsome, playfully schizophrenic star-in-the-making, is a talent to watch. **1/2 from ****
114 Reviews
Lost in Tarnation
metropeel17 November 2004
Tarnation is a neologism made from the words tarnished and damnation; that is also the name of a band. The trailer was disturbing and especially the tagline "this movie has saved my life". There is a lot of teenagers who are writing a diary and that is a bit surprising that this kind of movie has never be done before. I'm sure many people have made some kind of patchwork (photos, drawings, movies etc) but the work of Caouette is different. J Caouette had a plan : he wanted to be a director and this plot makes all the difference. This film is not kinky, is not defending Gay and Lesbian cause, is not a documentary about schizophrenia even if all that stuff are a part of the essence of the movie. I believe (but maybe I an wrong) that J Caouette wants to tell his own story of a boy who are fascinated by cinema. I loved this movie because many things had bounced in my heart during the screening. I am not gay, I don't want to work in the cinema business, my parents are not mentally insane but I understand the feelings of Caouette because all teenager has got pain in his heart : shame, fear, anxiety, neither an adult and a child etc. So I remembered memories of pain, tears and laughs. I remembered my own life. Tarnation is also a movie which leads hope and happiness to come. The cinematography is awesome, the music is good. Supported by Gus Van Sant and David Lynch, this movie is like a new born for the youg actor, director J Caouette. This man has got the rest of his life ahead. I think he will become a great actor/director. Go see this unique movie even if the first part of the movie is a bit violent and disturbing.
Gaël - Paris - France
my IMDb vote : 8/10
Gaël - Paris - France
my IMDb vote : 8/10
Intriguing and Revealing
mkw46515 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Got this off a bargain shelf, and it has been. It may not be for everyone; few films are. Reading the reviews will tell you a lot more about the cross section of America than it will about the film. When you go on a date, watch your date's reaction to decode what you might be adding to your gene pool. Choices and sacrifices. Ask them what the film is about. If they say a gay guy with a crazy mom, move on. If they say it is a longitudinal study of family dynamics and culture over the last half of the 20th century through one person's lenses, agree to another date.
please read this..
gottkvold20 November 2004
I thought this movie was a masterpiece and something a lot of people really should see. I disagree with what some of the other people have been saying on this, because you don't need to identify with this movie. Its not meant to only effect people who have mentally ill parents or are homosexual. A movie doesn't have to be suited to you for you to enjoy it, that's a really selfish thing to say. The fact that someone is showing what its like using their own life in complete truth is amazing. (to some of the people who commented): stop criticizing everything that isn't perfect and not as entertaining as you wanted it to be and try and learn something from it. It seems like no one can just once put themselves in someone else's shoes and see what their lives are like without complaining and being disgusted. Try to be more open minded and give something a chance without prejudice. Its just like if you do something and the whole time your saying in your head how much you hate it, your obviously not going to like it.
I don't really care though, because I really liked it. It just makes me mad when people can just trash such hard work. So what, the movie was upsetting, you didn't have to actually be put through it, why are you complaining.
In contrast I think the movie was very uplifting how it turned out. Although I can agree that its not something you would watch if you just want to be entertained, but its still worth watching and I can guaranty that if you see it with good expectations, you'll like it. It was an extremely interesting film and also very much original. I definitely recommend it to anyone that is interested in psychology. The movie itself is very well shot and has great sound and music. Again, I think most people will be happy they saw it and please disregard what others say (and what I say). See it and decide for yourself.
I don't really care though, because I really liked it. It just makes me mad when people can just trash such hard work. So what, the movie was upsetting, you didn't have to actually be put through it, why are you complaining.
In contrast I think the movie was very uplifting how it turned out. Although I can agree that its not something you would watch if you just want to be entertained, but its still worth watching and I can guaranty that if you see it with good expectations, you'll like it. It was an extremely interesting film and also very much original. I definitely recommend it to anyone that is interested in psychology. The movie itself is very well shot and has great sound and music. Again, I think most people will be happy they saw it and please disregard what others say (and what I say). See it and decide for yourself.
A psychedelic "Better Than Chocolate"--and as trite.
crackleanddrag3 November 2004
A $200-some-odd initial budget is no excuse for a dull, self-indulgent film that offers little or no insight into either a young man's life or his times.
I was initially drawn to the film by both the subject matter and the fact that John Cameron Mitchell (creator of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") was an executive producer. After seeing "Hedwig," I trusted Mitchell's artistic judgment completely---only to guess after seeing "Tarnation" that Mitchell must have been swayed by some sort of internal "pay it forward" guilt-trip to professionally help out a fellow young-ish gay filmmaker. (Disclaimer: I'm gay myself and very much appreciate gay or gender-bending film-making---when it's well done. This film, though, was like a psychedelic version of the incredibly gooey "Better Than Chocolate"---as in "I'm a sensitive gay person and I've been through a lot---love me!" Ick.)
Director/star Caouette apparently had about 15 minutes-worth of interesting home-video footage of himself as a child growing up with his once-institutionalized mother and oddball grandparents. And a few minutes of vanity shots of himself as a teenager with friends and as an adult with his boyfriend. The rest of the movie consists primarily of long, drawn-out filler---pseudo-freaky graphics and music superimposed over photos of Caouette posing. Not to mention the subtitles, especially at the beginning, that take 20 frames to relay a bit of information when they could have taken 2 or 3. (I read other reviews here before posting this; someone wrote that he/she saw people in the theater walking out during the first 10 minutes, and that they must have been either gay-intolerant or unfamiliar with non-mainstream film-making...My own guess is that they must have just been extremely bored with the by-now-clichéd MTV-style video sequence.)
Caouette's mother's story is truly tragic. Her own parents are tragic. Caouette's abusive upbringing in foster homes is tragic. But I know this only intellectually from the film, via the facts presented in the subtitles. Caouette isn't able to evoke an actual sense of pathos or understanding with either his photographs or his video interviews. How, for instance, did he escape the bizarre family cycle? Like Caouette, I also began hanging out in area punk clubs as a teen... It was an extremely visceral, life-changing feeling of acceptance for me. And for Caouette? He met a boyfriend. And a couple of club friends. You see a couple of bland photographs of them and maybe a minute of video of the guys mugging for the camera. Nothing else to give anyone viewing a sense of either the era or for what Caouette himself was feeling.
Then he moves to New York City. There, Cute Boyfriend David is very understanding and hugs Jonathan whenever he gets a (video-recorded) call from his weird mother. The two frolic in the snow. The utter vapidity makes me wish for the crazy mom and grandparents to re-appear. (They do, they do. But rather too late to salvage the film.) I also wonder why Caouette didn't reveal in the film that he'd had a kid with a girlfriend years earlier. Probably because this doesn't quite fit into the forced "My Sensitive Boyfriend Is All I Have After My Crazy Mother" theme. It would, though, have made much better film sense as part of the bigger picture of "dysfunctional family dynamics"(and been more honest, as part of a documentary).
Near the end of the film, Caouette tries hard to make us feel something by looking "sincerely" into the camera and telling us he hopes that he doesn't turn out like his mother, then wiping away a tear... He's trying desperately to be sincere, but after seeing earlier clips of his put-on antics, the effect is more schmaltzy than credible.
Caouette's actual family situation seems to have been very intense and disturbing, but again, you learn that primarily from the subtitles and not from the actual footage. He's barely been able to get anyone in his family to open up to him on camera (unless you count his mother's "pumpkin dance" near the end of the film, which seems more like anyone's unfortunate attempt to entertainingly mug for the camera rather than an example of "look at the tragedy that my mother has become"----since we've never learned what his mother was like to begin with).
The sparse actual footage of this film is put together with a lot of bells and whistles, but there's no "there" there. And certainly no family there, only an attempt at an "American Gothic" portrait that falls short due to its transparent attempts at being "hip" and convincing.
I was initially drawn to the film by both the subject matter and the fact that John Cameron Mitchell (creator of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") was an executive producer. After seeing "Hedwig," I trusted Mitchell's artistic judgment completely---only to guess after seeing "Tarnation" that Mitchell must have been swayed by some sort of internal "pay it forward" guilt-trip to professionally help out a fellow young-ish gay filmmaker. (Disclaimer: I'm gay myself and very much appreciate gay or gender-bending film-making---when it's well done. This film, though, was like a psychedelic version of the incredibly gooey "Better Than Chocolate"---as in "I'm a sensitive gay person and I've been through a lot---love me!" Ick.)
Director/star Caouette apparently had about 15 minutes-worth of interesting home-video footage of himself as a child growing up with his once-institutionalized mother and oddball grandparents. And a few minutes of vanity shots of himself as a teenager with friends and as an adult with his boyfriend. The rest of the movie consists primarily of long, drawn-out filler---pseudo-freaky graphics and music superimposed over photos of Caouette posing. Not to mention the subtitles, especially at the beginning, that take 20 frames to relay a bit of information when they could have taken 2 or 3. (I read other reviews here before posting this; someone wrote that he/she saw people in the theater walking out during the first 10 minutes, and that they must have been either gay-intolerant or unfamiliar with non-mainstream film-making...My own guess is that they must have just been extremely bored with the by-now-clichéd MTV-style video sequence.)
Caouette's mother's story is truly tragic. Her own parents are tragic. Caouette's abusive upbringing in foster homes is tragic. But I know this only intellectually from the film, via the facts presented in the subtitles. Caouette isn't able to evoke an actual sense of pathos or understanding with either his photographs or his video interviews. How, for instance, did he escape the bizarre family cycle? Like Caouette, I also began hanging out in area punk clubs as a teen... It was an extremely visceral, life-changing feeling of acceptance for me. And for Caouette? He met a boyfriend. And a couple of club friends. You see a couple of bland photographs of them and maybe a minute of video of the guys mugging for the camera. Nothing else to give anyone viewing a sense of either the era or for what Caouette himself was feeling.
Then he moves to New York City. There, Cute Boyfriend David is very understanding and hugs Jonathan whenever he gets a (video-recorded) call from his weird mother. The two frolic in the snow. The utter vapidity makes me wish for the crazy mom and grandparents to re-appear. (They do, they do. But rather too late to salvage the film.) I also wonder why Caouette didn't reveal in the film that he'd had a kid with a girlfriend years earlier. Probably because this doesn't quite fit into the forced "My Sensitive Boyfriend Is All I Have After My Crazy Mother" theme. It would, though, have made much better film sense as part of the bigger picture of "dysfunctional family dynamics"(and been more honest, as part of a documentary).
Near the end of the film, Caouette tries hard to make us feel something by looking "sincerely" into the camera and telling us he hopes that he doesn't turn out like his mother, then wiping away a tear... He's trying desperately to be sincere, but after seeing earlier clips of his put-on antics, the effect is more schmaltzy than credible.
Caouette's actual family situation seems to have been very intense and disturbing, but again, you learn that primarily from the subtitles and not from the actual footage. He's barely been able to get anyone in his family to open up to him on camera (unless you count his mother's "pumpkin dance" near the end of the film, which seems more like anyone's unfortunate attempt to entertainingly mug for the camera rather than an example of "look at the tragedy that my mother has become"----since we've never learned what his mother was like to begin with).
The sparse actual footage of this film is put together with a lot of bells and whistles, but there's no "there" there. And certainly no family there, only an attempt at an "American Gothic" portrait that falls short due to its transparent attempts at being "hip" and convincing.
A schizophrenic film
jafar-iqbal27 November 2013
Using a mixture of photographs, Super-8 footage, short films, answering machine messages and video diaries, filmmaker Jonathan Capouette documents the struggle he had growing up with his schizophrenic mother, and seeks to find out if more could have been done to protect her.
Jonathan Capouette is never going to be regarded as a successful filmmaker – he was the brainchild behind 'Tarnation', which is essentially a documentary about his own life, and has done very little since. But if this movie is his only legacy, then it's not the worst legacy in the world because 'Tarnation' is actually quite a good film.
But let me clarify: this is only a good film in parts. In fact, when it's good, it's very good; and when it's bad, it's pretty awful. The documentary is a very personal one, and I always struggle to hate something which is made with such intimacy and self-deprecation. The best scenes in the movie are the home footage clips of Jonathan with his mother, Renee. We see her both when she's entirely lucid and aware of herself, and at her lowest, struggling to function properly. It is heartbreaking to see this change as the documentary progresses, and the fact that the people who could have helped her are also present in these clips makes it all the more powerful.
Where the movie really falls flat is when we see Caouette 'expressing' himself, either through short films or video diaries. The fact is that he's not the most overly talented actor or filmmaker out there. What we end up with is a series of clips which are quite boring and often extremely pretentious. It's when trying to be too clever that the film is at it's worst. When the camera is just rolling, and we see the individuals for who they really are, it is a thoroughly engaging piece of film.
By the end of the movie, though, there is less of the pretension and more of the raw stuff. This seems to coincide with everyone growing older, and that is definitely a positive thing. It's a bittersweet climax to the film, and one which gave me a level of satisfaction I didn't think I'd get at the beginning.
'Tarnation' is an ambitious documentary, made by a young man who did his very best to fuse together the stark reality of his home life and his own creativity. The result is an (ironically) schizophrenic film, but a powerful one.
Jonathan Capouette is never going to be regarded as a successful filmmaker – he was the brainchild behind 'Tarnation', which is essentially a documentary about his own life, and has done very little since. But if this movie is his only legacy, then it's not the worst legacy in the world because 'Tarnation' is actually quite a good film.
But let me clarify: this is only a good film in parts. In fact, when it's good, it's very good; and when it's bad, it's pretty awful. The documentary is a very personal one, and I always struggle to hate something which is made with such intimacy and self-deprecation. The best scenes in the movie are the home footage clips of Jonathan with his mother, Renee. We see her both when she's entirely lucid and aware of herself, and at her lowest, struggling to function properly. It is heartbreaking to see this change as the documentary progresses, and the fact that the people who could have helped her are also present in these clips makes it all the more powerful.
Where the movie really falls flat is when we see Caouette 'expressing' himself, either through short films or video diaries. The fact is that he's not the most overly talented actor or filmmaker out there. What we end up with is a series of clips which are quite boring and often extremely pretentious. It's when trying to be too clever that the film is at it's worst. When the camera is just rolling, and we see the individuals for who they really are, it is a thoroughly engaging piece of film.
By the end of the movie, though, there is less of the pretension and more of the raw stuff. This seems to coincide with everyone growing older, and that is definitely a positive thing. It's a bittersweet climax to the film, and one which gave me a level of satisfaction I didn't think I'd get at the beginning.
'Tarnation' is an ambitious documentary, made by a young man who did his very best to fuse together the stark reality of his home life and his own creativity. The result is an (ironically) schizophrenic film, but a powerful one.
Your greatest creation is the life you lead.
film-critic3 June 2005
In the world of documentaries, Tarnation ranks among one of the best that I have seen. Sometimes with a low-budget outing it is hard to judge the quality of the final product, but Jonathan Caouette proves that he has a passion for the subject, a desire to tell his story and a know-how to bring his moments to life. With bold music (that nearly grips your heart at every turn) and an Andy Warhol style of imagery, Caouette pulls us deep within his life and shows us his life unfiltered. Using just his computer, he builds the story of his life using scenes taken from nineteen years in front (and behind) the camera. It reminded me of Capturing the Friedmans, except with more heart and soul. We are taken through a broad range of emotions which include fear, surprise, excitement, and distraught as we witness the decline of our narrator. Tarnation is a man's bold expression to tell the story of his life, and for me, it worked wonders on my soul and mind.
What makes Caouette's documentary impressive is that you sometimes forget that he is the one creating the masterpiece. Since he is in front of the camera from a young age until thirty years later, it is easy for one to forget that he is creating these images for us. I think that is important for us to remember because he places every snapshot, every audio, and every snippet of video in the film to show a purpose. While we all can watch the film and derive our purpose or point about the film (which is what makes cinema amazing), I saw it as this very sad and vicious circle of life. Mother lives with parents, who are mentally unstable, she eventually is that way as well, which then slowly translates onto her son. It is a sad and destructive cycle that happens daily in America as well as around the world. It is a central focus to many of our films and media, the idea that if you grow up in an environment of chaos, you will eventually create that same chaos years later. It is a wild thought that can be visually seen in the film Tarnation.
Outside of the broad range of emotions that were surging through me while I watched this riveting piece of art, there were some elements that I just thought were bold, creative, and extremely stylish. I loved the use of words to tell the story. Normally, in these documentaries you are forced to listen to that calming voice telling you what is happening, what did happen, and what will happen next. In this film, Caouette uses the typed words to give us both that sensation of neutrality (and sometimes numbness) and to honestly focus our attention towards the images on screen. There are times when the voice-over technique can become overpowering, and you begin to focus yourself onto the words of the narrator, instead of the events unfolding on screen. With the typed words from Caouette, we focus on him, his mother, and the environment that is imploding around him.
Also, the music. One cannot talk about this film without mentioning the soundtrack to this film. You know those moments where you need to express yourself and the only way that works is by making a mixed CD? Well, this is Caouette's mixed CD. The music choice for the film seemed to come from his heart, from his passion spawned this music. Not only was I listening to some great songs for the first time, but this was just another avenue for me to understand Jonathan and the world in which he resides. The music really help set the mood and tone for the entire film. It helped build the tension and give us that raw human emotion that built the foundation to this movie. Jonathan's mother was the main character of this film, then I would say that the music was the co-star. This film would not have been as effective if it wasn't for the amazing sound choices.
Finally, I would like to say that Caouette has built a masterpiece here. He has taken a personal story and created more emotions and personality than most Hollywood big budget productions could have. It was real. This is something that Hollywood continues to strive for, but cannot quite reach it. Caouette has, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again. I think what I loved so much about this film is that it is another story about our world. I don't think we see enough real-life stories about our neighbors and friends, but instead are bombarded with superficial heroes that are paid more money than we will ever see and somehow always win the perfect girl at the end. Happiness is not always the ending to every story.
Overall, I was impressed. This was an outstanding film that deserves every bit of recognition that is handed to it. Caouette has created a masterpiece and is changing with this film the face of documentaries. I expect to see rip-offs of this popping up in the near future. He inspires those of us who want to create our own stories to do so, and is a pioneer of the struggling filmmaker. I suggest this film to all my friends and family, not just for the cinematic pleasure that is contained in it, but also because Caouette could be the modern day Warhol at least that is what I saw when I witnessed the power of this film. Wow.
Bravo Mr. Caouette, Bravo!!!
Grade: ***** out of *****
What makes Caouette's documentary impressive is that you sometimes forget that he is the one creating the masterpiece. Since he is in front of the camera from a young age until thirty years later, it is easy for one to forget that he is creating these images for us. I think that is important for us to remember because he places every snapshot, every audio, and every snippet of video in the film to show a purpose. While we all can watch the film and derive our purpose or point about the film (which is what makes cinema amazing), I saw it as this very sad and vicious circle of life. Mother lives with parents, who are mentally unstable, she eventually is that way as well, which then slowly translates onto her son. It is a sad and destructive cycle that happens daily in America as well as around the world. It is a central focus to many of our films and media, the idea that if you grow up in an environment of chaos, you will eventually create that same chaos years later. It is a wild thought that can be visually seen in the film Tarnation.
Outside of the broad range of emotions that were surging through me while I watched this riveting piece of art, there were some elements that I just thought were bold, creative, and extremely stylish. I loved the use of words to tell the story. Normally, in these documentaries you are forced to listen to that calming voice telling you what is happening, what did happen, and what will happen next. In this film, Caouette uses the typed words to give us both that sensation of neutrality (and sometimes numbness) and to honestly focus our attention towards the images on screen. There are times when the voice-over technique can become overpowering, and you begin to focus yourself onto the words of the narrator, instead of the events unfolding on screen. With the typed words from Caouette, we focus on him, his mother, and the environment that is imploding around him.
Also, the music. One cannot talk about this film without mentioning the soundtrack to this film. You know those moments where you need to express yourself and the only way that works is by making a mixed CD? Well, this is Caouette's mixed CD. The music choice for the film seemed to come from his heart, from his passion spawned this music. Not only was I listening to some great songs for the first time, but this was just another avenue for me to understand Jonathan and the world in which he resides. The music really help set the mood and tone for the entire film. It helped build the tension and give us that raw human emotion that built the foundation to this movie. Jonathan's mother was the main character of this film, then I would say that the music was the co-star. This film would not have been as effective if it wasn't for the amazing sound choices.
Finally, I would like to say that Caouette has built a masterpiece here. He has taken a personal story and created more emotions and personality than most Hollywood big budget productions could have. It was real. This is something that Hollywood continues to strive for, but cannot quite reach it. Caouette has, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again. I think what I loved so much about this film is that it is another story about our world. I don't think we see enough real-life stories about our neighbors and friends, but instead are bombarded with superficial heroes that are paid more money than we will ever see and somehow always win the perfect girl at the end. Happiness is not always the ending to every story.
Overall, I was impressed. This was an outstanding film that deserves every bit of recognition that is handed to it. Caouette has created a masterpiece and is changing with this film the face of documentaries. I expect to see rip-offs of this popping up in the near future. He inspires those of us who want to create our own stories to do so, and is a pioneer of the struggling filmmaker. I suggest this film to all my friends and family, not just for the cinematic pleasure that is contained in it, but also because Caouette could be the modern day Warhol at least that is what I saw when I witnessed the power of this film. Wow.
Bravo Mr. Caouette, Bravo!!!
Grade: ***** out of *****
"What the hell is wrong with you"
tamaraa-5116326 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
If you are expecting a pleasurable movie, you are wrong. Tarnation had me watching most part with confusion and fright, feeling like I did not understand what was going on.
This feeling of confusion for a large part is caused by the movie's graphics: the fragments of the movie are made throughout some 20 years, and so differ strongly in quality. You cannot expect much from amateur film made around the 80s, but, watching this in 2018, the blurred, pixelated graphics make for an uncanny feeling. Mixed with the extra color effects and video animations, it sometimes gets to the point where you feel like you are watching a psychedelic movie. A very creepy one - one that for the most part left me thinking "what the hell is going on".
However confusing and uncomfortable most of the movie is, the psychedelic parts explain the chaos of shock therapy, mental diseases, and filmmaker Jonathan's youth. At a certain moment Jonathan smoked 2 joints, which messed with his brain, making him feel like he was living in a dream. From this point on, the chaos and speed of which all different fragments are shown is in sync with the trouble that the family went through - getting worse throughout the years.
An hour into the movie, you get back to the same shot as the beginning - Jonathan's mother overdosing on lithium. From here on, there is a shift in the movie - the story is now told via interviews from Jonathan with his family. This makes it easier and more comfortable to watch, as it feels like Jonathan at this point got through the family mess he was dealing with and is ready to share it.
Through interviews with his family members and a higher quality camera, Tarnation's very end shows the pain in the family. There is no acting; all fights and emotions are very present and real. At the very end, breaking down in front of the camera, Jonathan addresses the people asking why he always looked so stressed and "what the hell was wrong with him". The answer is this movie.
This feeling of confusion for a large part is caused by the movie's graphics: the fragments of the movie are made throughout some 20 years, and so differ strongly in quality. You cannot expect much from amateur film made around the 80s, but, watching this in 2018, the blurred, pixelated graphics make for an uncanny feeling. Mixed with the extra color effects and video animations, it sometimes gets to the point where you feel like you are watching a psychedelic movie. A very creepy one - one that for the most part left me thinking "what the hell is going on".
However confusing and uncomfortable most of the movie is, the psychedelic parts explain the chaos of shock therapy, mental diseases, and filmmaker Jonathan's youth. At a certain moment Jonathan smoked 2 joints, which messed with his brain, making him feel like he was living in a dream. From this point on, the chaos and speed of which all different fragments are shown is in sync with the trouble that the family went through - getting worse throughout the years.
An hour into the movie, you get back to the same shot as the beginning - Jonathan's mother overdosing on lithium. From here on, there is a shift in the movie - the story is now told via interviews from Jonathan with his family. This makes it easier and more comfortable to watch, as it feels like Jonathan at this point got through the family mess he was dealing with and is ready to share it.
Through interviews with his family members and a higher quality camera, Tarnation's very end shows the pain in the family. There is no acting; all fights and emotions are very present and real. At the very end, breaking down in front of the camera, Jonathan addresses the people asking why he always looked so stressed and "what the hell was wrong with him". The answer is this movie.
Truly inspirational
bonadea_361 March 2005
First of all, I may accept some negative comments about this movie but one should admit that Tarnation was truly inspirational. It was like reading someone's diary, but it was on screen. It is kind of strange that no one has ever thought about this, but then again many people are not obsessed with camera and movies as Jonathan is. Whether you like Tarnation or not it is definite that it was unique, nothing I've ever seen on the screen. A film, a documentary, a diary, a poem to Jonathan's mother, a short look at the lives of teenagers during the 90's and most importantly a look at someone real, so real that you may have passed by him on the street. What effected me the most was that he is real. He is among us, he can even be your friend's friend. Seeing so closely how someone suffer was a great experience. I also think that this movie has created something none has ever done before. And it also reminded me that movies are all about life, whether they are fiction or non-fiction. Every character we see in movies may be real characters in life. The characters may have been fictional in Tarnation, but they are not. So this fact increased my love for the art of cinema and inspired me to continue shooting my short films. I have to thank him.
A man's Valentine to himself
zetes22 July 2007
Tarnation is a very personal documentary exploring the director's history and the pain that his mother went through with her various psychological problems. There are two ways to look at this film: either you can see it as a soul-searching document produced by Caouette, or you can see it as an egotistical project taken up to achieve notoriety and project depth. While I think the former view is less cynical, I think I'd lean toward the latter. The film was sold as being about Jonathan and his disturbed mother, but his mother feels almost like an afterthought. The film is almost always, and almost always gloriously so, about Jonathan Caouette. He had a fairly difficult life, it is true. But whenever I personally feel my own life is terrible, I think of a scene from Voltaire's Candide, where each person on a ship is asked to tell their sob story, and each story is more horrific than the last. Yes, Jonathan, it was bad, but others have had much worse, and much more interesting lives. And when you put your face on screen for eighty minutes of the time, use third-person narration to describe the events in your life, and have all of your greatest works of creation on display, it's hard for the audience not to find it egotistical. Still, the film can be affecting, and the editing (done on a Mac) shows great skill. The film was an obvious influence on director John Cameron Mitchell's film Shortbus, in which Caouette appeared in a bit part.
Look at me look at me LOOK AT ME!
wadechurton5 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Gave this one a go, after reading how deep and disturbing it was supposed to be. It was disturbing all right, but only in as much as 'Tarnation' shows just how far a monstrous unchecked ego can go in pursuit of gratification. This movie is a monument erected by Jonathan Caouette to Jonathan Caouette; a person he evidently finds endlessly fascinating. The movie was a reasonably good idea and the dizzying assembly of film, video, phone calls etcetera was fine but the fatal flaw with this movie is director/writer/actor/assemblist Caouette's incredible self-obsession. For instance, he diligently tracks and chronicles his own movements over decades but doesn't even mention that he has a brother. Is he younger than Jonathan, older, completely normal or a total weirdo? We don't know because Caouette doesn't tell us. The brother is mentioned only once, and merely in passing, by Renee Caouette; Jonathan's schizophrenic mother. After a life spent compulsively documenting himself Caouette seems to have intended 'Tarnation' to introduce the rest of the world to what he sees as the high tragedy of his life story, and to self-righteously punish those he feels are responsible for it by stirring up a few old family sore points. The family are a colourful if psychologically unfortunate lot to be sure; Grandpa is a simple, easy-going man (to a fault), the grandmother seems almost as nuts as daughter Renee, who of course is completely bananas. He has an interesting story to tell (assuming that it is all true) and a fascinating way to tell it, but the director's self-pity is so palpable and pungent that it virtually destroys the movie. We can neither bond nor empathise with someone who can only be described as the definitive exhibitionist Drama Queen. By the time he gets to blubbing directly to us about his fears and current mental agony, it comes across as crass, self-serving and fake; we know damn well he can cry on cue, he's been doing it since he was eleven. Moreover, Caouette's callous use of his immediate family for this 'cinema of narcissism' is far more shocking than any footage of Renee making up daft songs about pumpkins and laughing hysterically could be. I lasted about fifteen minutes into 'Tarnation' before a growing disgust with this poor little 'tortured artiste' set in, but the final shot is a most telling one; Caouette is filmed lying down close to his sleeping mother, eyes closed and hands folded under his head in the clichéd 'sleeping child' pose. Like all of the others in the movie who are not Jonathan Caouette, his mentally ill mother whom he professes to love has become a mere prop; a piece of scenery to frame the all-important, all-consuming Artist's Performance.
Film you should see
marcinplawnicki21 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I've just see this movie and i'm very impressed by amount of work Jonathan Caouette put into this movie. I made a profile to put this comment. I have few points of positive view for this movie.
For those who don't know how to make real movie not just a youtube shot from mobile phone. As you can see there are materials from long speech or clips from other movies he made. To make it all you need camera, hundreds hours of recorded moments to go through, choose, put in the order, cut, put sound.. Remember that when he was making this movie was not the era of 500GB hard drives and broadband internet. He had to take this heavy camera everywhere.
I really liked this movie. You don't have to like it, but you should appreciate effort. Recording movie against that kind of weird reality and totally broken family. And paying for this, storing tapes, experimenting with camera. He spend a lot of money on it while he could just be passive and probably lost himself in drugs or die. During movie i was like: my god this is the worst kind of life back kick you may got.
I'm also European and I think this is something what could be made only in USA. You have so many positive freaks who will spend half of life with project just for them which are great. And you also are the only country with that kind of freak environment. What kind of worst pathology is this family? How many people like those are in your country? Who can have any kind of drug that easy? Who would believe in treatment like those for grandma, this is a plant not human. This is horrible.. And a positive ones. You are probably the only country where some total freak can leave Texas and go to new york sell his talents even if are completely out of mind. And make that kind of movie.
Thanks for that.
I think also there will be next era in cinema or entertainment. Now you have camera and camcorders in every mobile phone, gear is so cheap. Make movies like this. Hundrets of millions people - there is lots of weird lifes .
For those who don't know how to make real movie not just a youtube shot from mobile phone. As you can see there are materials from long speech or clips from other movies he made. To make it all you need camera, hundreds hours of recorded moments to go through, choose, put in the order, cut, put sound.. Remember that when he was making this movie was not the era of 500GB hard drives and broadband internet. He had to take this heavy camera everywhere.
I really liked this movie. You don't have to like it, but you should appreciate effort. Recording movie against that kind of weird reality and totally broken family. And paying for this, storing tapes, experimenting with camera. He spend a lot of money on it while he could just be passive and probably lost himself in drugs or die. During movie i was like: my god this is the worst kind of life back kick you may got.
I'm also European and I think this is something what could be made only in USA. You have so many positive freaks who will spend half of life with project just for them which are great. And you also are the only country with that kind of freak environment. What kind of worst pathology is this family? How many people like those are in your country? Who can have any kind of drug that easy? Who would believe in treatment like those for grandma, this is a plant not human. This is horrible.. And a positive ones. You are probably the only country where some total freak can leave Texas and go to new york sell his talents even if are completely out of mind. And make that kind of movie.
Thanks for that.
I think also there will be next era in cinema or entertainment. Now you have camera and camcorders in every mobile phone, gear is so cheap. Make movies like this. Hundrets of millions people - there is lots of weird lifes .
Well I for one actually appreciated this movie
pixie_amour4 April 2006
This film addresses so many important social issues within the span of its eighty-five minutes. And, although there were points when the storyline was a bit out of focus, the fearless approach to several controversies was more refreshing than sitting through some watered-down and star-studded narrative. There are a couple portions (and you will know what they are when you get to them) that I actually recommend forwarding through a bit..they don't really advance the story But, that aside, I think it's important to see what kind of damage some of the conventional American approaches to "fixing" troubled children have. This film presents this. Take electro-convulsive therapy, for example, on a young girl --or an abusive foster home for a kid who could have been placed immediately with his grandparents.
Perhaps the film was found narcissistic. But filming himself, for Jonathan, was an established artform.. a way to document his feelings and thoughts on issues alone. It seemed, from the movie, that a videotape became his only salvation from a harsh reality. It's an artform. And, when artists find themselves in a position to comment on issues that affect mass numbers of people, I feel that there is a responsibility to speak up.
Perhaps the film was found narcissistic. But filming himself, for Jonathan, was an established artform.. a way to document his feelings and thoughts on issues alone. It seemed, from the movie, that a videotape became his only salvation from a harsh reality. It's an artform. And, when artists find themselves in a position to comment on issues that affect mass numbers of people, I feel that there is a responsibility to speak up.
An exercise in extreme narcissism.
runrunnp18 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I sat through the first hour of this movie and I could watch no more. What you find out is his grandparents are slightly cuckoo and boring. His mother is really cuckoo which may or may not have been because her parents were abusive and that she received extremely harsh psychiatric treatment. The film maker is really narcissistic treating the viewer to long sections where he performs (when a young teenage boy) for the camera as some female with Southern affectation which I guess is based on some famous performer or something but which is really lost on me. His grandmother (and himself?) terms these mini performances "confessions" which I guess has some analogy to the film presented - is this his grown version of the "confessions" he performed earlier. I don't know because the first hour is not only harrowing but boring and emotionally un-involving. The real story is told using text which appears across the screen over images which I suppose relate but often unintelligibly. I would like to see this story but I would want to see it told with some honest humanity and not wrapped up in posturing and affectation.
art or opinion?
ellfa129 July 2004
After reviewing tarnation, I really think that there should of been some sort of biography attempt made by the director in order to explain more clearly. I must agree that this film shows bare emotions to the fullest extent. However, I got something a little different out of it, as I have met and had lengthly conversations with the director, John. I met John through John Cameron Mitchell at an audition in New York. I hung out with him recently in NY when I was visiting JCM as he co produced the flick to begin with.
I felt that the core of the film really lied within ourselves. What could be called everyday family situations where no one is really concerned how they go are essential to life and essential to this story. Many may think that this is a whimsical film about a boy taking care of his schizo mom. These everyday life situations I thought showed more of the human side we all tend to possess. Life may be full of thrill rides, but you have to wait in line to get on them, hence some of these scenes.
Overall, I think what John has created is a film too real for Hollywood and more importantly, more real than everyday life. Most people can't relate to real life as they don't live it themselves. In fact, it was even so for myself (lol). I did feel a little weird myself in the end.
Any movie where the director bares his soul in it's entirety is worth seeing to me.
I felt that the core of the film really lied within ourselves. What could be called everyday family situations where no one is really concerned how they go are essential to life and essential to this story. Many may think that this is a whimsical film about a boy taking care of his schizo mom. These everyday life situations I thought showed more of the human side we all tend to possess. Life may be full of thrill rides, but you have to wait in line to get on them, hence some of these scenes.
Overall, I think what John has created is a film too real for Hollywood and more importantly, more real than everyday life. Most people can't relate to real life as they don't live it themselves. In fact, it was even so for myself (lol). I did feel a little weird myself in the end.
Any movie where the director bares his soul in it's entirety is worth seeing to me.
MASTERPIECE - See this movie! (Hate that intro, but this deserves this)
thesar-229 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
You know how movies get those critic's one-word comments/quotes and they're splashed on the poster or DVD cover? Here's my SHORT list for Tarnation.
Real. Raw. Gritty. Gripping. Shocking. Amazing. Psychedelic. Original. Perfect. Masterpiece.
Again, this is a SHORT list on the emotions I had for this excellent film.
I've seen dozens upon dozens of documentaries. Never, EVER, before have I've seen one about someone's life that I experienced their entire life from before birth to present day. Everything, everything, all in 90 minutes. I seriously felt, I had the beginning, middle, nowadays and even way before he was even a glimmer in his father's eye.
Obviously, there's a lot of details/events left out. But, I truly felt I got the full story leading up to his current position. And the multiple reasons why.
The film begins in the present tense, with filmmaker/creator (Jonathan Caouette) of Tarnation worried about his mother's condition on the phone. He's in NYC and she's out of town. The movie moves to many scenes/words of the grandparents of Caouette and the birth and almost immediate downfall of his mother with the abuse the parents gave her. Watch the movie to see how much unfortunate terror she experienced.
Most of the excellently edited documentary shows the rise and life of Caouette and his relationships and love for his very disturbed mother. In addition, his concern of becoming like her.
Here's my official opinion of the film: It is the best documentary I've ever seen. And it's due to me getting to know all the real characters in real situations with real reactions. You will see multi-generations and what people can/probably will become. It is shown in a literal kaleidoscope of screen action that's pleasing and interesting; enough to move you from scene one to the end. You will see a true drama-(queen)-star, a product of his ancestors (the ones you see, that is) who will remind you of that horrid "Britney Spears You Tube" yet becomes real enough for you to side with him.
You will also get to see what he grew up with – 1980 and 1990s musical/movie/TV references. In addition, this movie had an excellent soundtrack and score – both mostly original music made for the movie. It's depressing, interesting and uplifting all at the same time. Though it's part Party Monster and even though that's based on true events, this one feels 1000% true and real, above that Culkin feature.
I would HIGHLY recommend this movie. In fact, I have to rethink my top 20 or 10 movies of all time list to include this. If you are a parent you will solely rethink some of the decisions you will make for your descendants after watching this. Even the small, seemingly remote actions can have enormous future consequences. Also, any psychologist would have a field day with this feature. There has to be dozens of issues just in these 90 minutes that could be studied for better research. This movie will open your mind to the absolute WHY things are the way they are in today's time and why people act the way they do.
Side Note: This movie was an absolute fluke for me. Sure, I've heard it about it, years ago. But today, after work, 35 days following Christmas 2009, I was buying something at a neighboring store and saw a Blockbuster Video – a place I used to frequent with great interest – weekly, but not within the past year or so. I had previously received a Christmas gift ($10 Blockbuster gift card) from my supervisor, paid out of his own pocket. I decided to go in and see what to spend it on. Since I am a member of Netflix, I had no interest in renting. So after a complete (and almost 1 hour) scan of the joint, I settled on 4 bargain DVDs (The Order, Tarnation, Cowboys & Angels, Evil) and they all fit (get this) within that $10 gift card. (3 @ $1.99 and 1 @ $3.99.) Believe it or not, Tarnation was one of the $1.99 films. Who (or especially me, or my boss who purchased the card) would ever know this would be one of my all-time favorite films.
Lesson: don't ever give up on independent films you "happen to stumble upon" in video or book stores or online. They are the ones with the most heart. The ones that don't care about box-office. The ones that care about art; about creativity. I'm glad I found this, without ever having seen it before, and I truly feel I am stealing from Caouette for just paying $1.99. Okay, okay, I'll send him an email thanks. And you will do the same.
Real. Raw. Gritty. Gripping. Shocking. Amazing. Psychedelic. Original. Perfect. Masterpiece.
Again, this is a SHORT list on the emotions I had for this excellent film.
I've seen dozens upon dozens of documentaries. Never, EVER, before have I've seen one about someone's life that I experienced their entire life from before birth to present day. Everything, everything, all in 90 minutes. I seriously felt, I had the beginning, middle, nowadays and even way before he was even a glimmer in his father's eye.
Obviously, there's a lot of details/events left out. But, I truly felt I got the full story leading up to his current position. And the multiple reasons why.
The film begins in the present tense, with filmmaker/creator (Jonathan Caouette) of Tarnation worried about his mother's condition on the phone. He's in NYC and she's out of town. The movie moves to many scenes/words of the grandparents of Caouette and the birth and almost immediate downfall of his mother with the abuse the parents gave her. Watch the movie to see how much unfortunate terror she experienced.
Most of the excellently edited documentary shows the rise and life of Caouette and his relationships and love for his very disturbed mother. In addition, his concern of becoming like her.
Here's my official opinion of the film: It is the best documentary I've ever seen. And it's due to me getting to know all the real characters in real situations with real reactions. You will see multi-generations and what people can/probably will become. It is shown in a literal kaleidoscope of screen action that's pleasing and interesting; enough to move you from scene one to the end. You will see a true drama-(queen)-star, a product of his ancestors (the ones you see, that is) who will remind you of that horrid "Britney Spears You Tube" yet becomes real enough for you to side with him.
You will also get to see what he grew up with – 1980 and 1990s musical/movie/TV references. In addition, this movie had an excellent soundtrack and score – both mostly original music made for the movie. It's depressing, interesting and uplifting all at the same time. Though it's part Party Monster and even though that's based on true events, this one feels 1000% true and real, above that Culkin feature.
I would HIGHLY recommend this movie. In fact, I have to rethink my top 20 or 10 movies of all time list to include this. If you are a parent you will solely rethink some of the decisions you will make for your descendants after watching this. Even the small, seemingly remote actions can have enormous future consequences. Also, any psychologist would have a field day with this feature. There has to be dozens of issues just in these 90 minutes that could be studied for better research. This movie will open your mind to the absolute WHY things are the way they are in today's time and why people act the way they do.
Side Note: This movie was an absolute fluke for me. Sure, I've heard it about it, years ago. But today, after work, 35 days following Christmas 2009, I was buying something at a neighboring store and saw a Blockbuster Video – a place I used to frequent with great interest – weekly, but not within the past year or so. I had previously received a Christmas gift ($10 Blockbuster gift card) from my supervisor, paid out of his own pocket. I decided to go in and see what to spend it on. Since I am a member of Netflix, I had no interest in renting. So after a complete (and almost 1 hour) scan of the joint, I settled on 4 bargain DVDs (The Order, Tarnation, Cowboys & Angels, Evil) and they all fit (get this) within that $10 gift card. (3 @ $1.99 and 1 @ $3.99.) Believe it or not, Tarnation was one of the $1.99 films. Who (or especially me, or my boss who purchased the card) would ever know this would be one of my all-time favorite films.
Lesson: don't ever give up on independent films you "happen to stumble upon" in video or book stores or online. They are the ones with the most heart. The ones that don't care about box-office. The ones that care about art; about creativity. I'm glad I found this, without ever having seen it before, and I truly feel I am stealing from Caouette for just paying $1.99. Okay, okay, I'll send him an email thanks. And you will do the same.
narcissistic, moving, intriguing
jaibo17 December 2007
Undeniably moving, brilliantly edited autobiographical assemblage, particularly strong in its integration of the footage with well-chosen music tracks. Despite being quite narcissistic and closed in the centre (the historical and social context of the life is never explored), the film does nevertheless document a wider history than a personal one - that of both gay experience in the US and the disempowerment of individuals by an authoritarian and harmful medical establishment. There is something uncomfortable about the degree with which Caouette needs to have a film camera in his own and his loved-ones' face every time something traumatic happens or is harked back to, but this makes him an emblematic representative of a generation which has been brought up with filmed media mediating all aspects of the real.
The film's faults are the faults of American culture - soap operatic concentration on the trials and tribulations of intrapersonal relationships and a self-involved revolving around personal issues; but curiously, the films Americanism is its strength as well, as it possesses enormous emotional candour and real heart. It will be interesting to see if Caouette can apply his film-making acumen to subjects other than himself.
It has to be admitted that Tarnation would never have got anywhere if he hadn't been so personally photogenic and physically attractive. The indie and gay establishment wouldn't have been interested in the traumas of a fat, ugly, charisma-less queen...
The film's faults are the faults of American culture - soap operatic concentration on the trials and tribulations of intrapersonal relationships and a self-involved revolving around personal issues; but curiously, the films Americanism is its strength as well, as it possesses enormous emotional candour and real heart. It will be interesting to see if Caouette can apply his film-making acumen to subjects other than himself.
It has to be admitted that Tarnation would never have got anywhere if he hadn't been so personally photogenic and physically attractive. The indie and gay establishment wouldn't have been interested in the traumas of a fat, ugly, charisma-less queen...
An intense and effective documentary that stays with you
CharteredStreets10 April 2005
Every review, positive or negative, I've read of "Tarnation" has started with the same information: that it was made for a total cost to its maker (Jonathan Caouette) of $218. That's how much it cost for his tapes; the cameras (which vary over the course of the movie) were gifts, and he used his boyfriend's iMac to edit it, using the iMovie software. I generally prefer movies to be shot on film than digital cameras, but, on the other hand, "Tarnation" is proof that if people have a good movie in them, they can now easily get it made (distribution is trickier).
"Tarnation" is a documentary about the life of its maker, Caouette. When he was a child his mother was (wrongly, we learn) diagnosed with mental illness and taken away from him, and he had to live with his grandparents. As a teenager, he experimented with drugs and sex, then, grown up, he left his grandparents to go and live in New York, reuniting with his mother. Since he was a child, he has documented himself and his life on VHS, Betamax and digital.
Over the last few years, he gathered together all his footage, uploaded it onto the computer and, with encouragement from John Cameron Mitchell and Gus van Sant (both of whom get Executive Producer credits), edited it together (from over 160 hours of footage) into an effective and at times disturbing documentary, reminiscent of 2003's successful "Capturing the Friedmans." It was picked up for Sundance 2004, and has since been talked about endlessly among filmgoers, the talk usually being about the fact that it was made for $218 ('dollars, not pounds!' someone exclaimed to me).
Yes, it was made for $218. A lot of movies are made for that amount, and less, but (thankfully, in most cases), you and I will never see them. I went into "Tarnation" because I was interested in its technique, and I was surprised at its unusual power. It is not a movie that, afterwards, you leave to return to normality; it stays with you, and leaves you questioning what 'normality' is.
Consider Jonathan's monologues to the camera. As a boy, he dresses up in his mother's clothes and talks in a Southern drawl, which seems amusing at first until we listen to what he is saying (later, when the drugs have taken their toll on his mother, she has a long, wild speech into the camera and we realise, chillingly, that she sounds exactly like Jonathan in these early scenes). He locks himself in rooms, and films himself taking drugs. Some of this is not easy to watch (at least half a dozen people left the cinema at the screening I was at).
Inevitably, there are imperfections. There are too many montages (I'm beginning to think any montages in a movie is too many), and too much information is given to the audience through titles on the screen. The latter mistake seems like laziness, and the former seems to be picked up from other American movies that make the same mistake.
Quibble, quibble. It's my job to point out where movies go wrong, so there you go. I still think "Tarnation" is an excellent documentary, better than many I've seen that cost hundreds of times as much. I don't want to tell you too much about what happens in the movie because I didn't know, and it has some very powerful moments.
And Caouette, somehow, remains a mystery; for all his autobiographical detail, we can't quite get to the bottom of his personality. I suppose the best clue is not in the movie; it's the movie itself. I think that anyone using a camera to film so much of his life must have wanted somehow to distance himself from it.
"Tarnation" is a documentary about the life of its maker, Caouette. When he was a child his mother was (wrongly, we learn) diagnosed with mental illness and taken away from him, and he had to live with his grandparents. As a teenager, he experimented with drugs and sex, then, grown up, he left his grandparents to go and live in New York, reuniting with his mother. Since he was a child, he has documented himself and his life on VHS, Betamax and digital.
Over the last few years, he gathered together all his footage, uploaded it onto the computer and, with encouragement from John Cameron Mitchell and Gus van Sant (both of whom get Executive Producer credits), edited it together (from over 160 hours of footage) into an effective and at times disturbing documentary, reminiscent of 2003's successful "Capturing the Friedmans." It was picked up for Sundance 2004, and has since been talked about endlessly among filmgoers, the talk usually being about the fact that it was made for $218 ('dollars, not pounds!' someone exclaimed to me).
Yes, it was made for $218. A lot of movies are made for that amount, and less, but (thankfully, in most cases), you and I will never see them. I went into "Tarnation" because I was interested in its technique, and I was surprised at its unusual power. It is not a movie that, afterwards, you leave to return to normality; it stays with you, and leaves you questioning what 'normality' is.
Consider Jonathan's monologues to the camera. As a boy, he dresses up in his mother's clothes and talks in a Southern drawl, which seems amusing at first until we listen to what he is saying (later, when the drugs have taken their toll on his mother, she has a long, wild speech into the camera and we realise, chillingly, that she sounds exactly like Jonathan in these early scenes). He locks himself in rooms, and films himself taking drugs. Some of this is not easy to watch (at least half a dozen people left the cinema at the screening I was at).
Inevitably, there are imperfections. There are too many montages (I'm beginning to think any montages in a movie is too many), and too much information is given to the audience through titles on the screen. The latter mistake seems like laziness, and the former seems to be picked up from other American movies that make the same mistake.
Quibble, quibble. It's my job to point out where movies go wrong, so there you go. I still think "Tarnation" is an excellent documentary, better than many I've seen that cost hundreds of times as much. I don't want to tell you too much about what happens in the movie because I didn't know, and it has some very powerful moments.
And Caouette, somehow, remains a mystery; for all his autobiographical detail, we can't quite get to the bottom of his personality. I suppose the best clue is not in the movie; it's the movie itself. I think that anyone using a camera to film so much of his life must have wanted somehow to distance himself from it.
self-absorbed but well edited
jellopuke24 June 2019
This is a movie made by someone about themselves, but also about the larger issues of hereditary mental illness. Almost a collage form, it tends to get too wrapped up in the filmmaker himself and just becomes a jumble of images, but there are some really should baring moments hidden inside all the "selfie" stuff. Definitely not for everyone.
Tarnation
cultfilmfan2 July 2005
Tarnation, is a documentary where the film's director and star Jonathan Caouette, talks about his mother and life growing up. The film shows Jonathan's mother Renee, as a child living with her parents Adolph and Rosemary. As a child Renee was a model and was used in commercials and ads. When she was young Renee fell of the roof of her house and was hospitalized. The doctors soon discover a mental condition of Renee's and with her parents permission they give her shock treatment. Renee's life at home included abuse and living with her mental illness and being sent to many hospitals and having lots of shock treatment sessions. When Renee got older she met a door to door salesman named Steve and they got married. Just before Renee found out she was pregnant Steve left her and Renee had to take care of her son Jonathan alone. Jonathan goes to several foster homes and is later taken care of by his grandparents. As he gets older we find out that Jonathan is gay and experiments with drugs, goes to a gay club, has several boyfriends and gets into underground films and soon starts to make his own. When he grows up Jonathan moves to New York and finds a boyfriend. The film also shows Jonathan's relationship with his mentally ill mother Renee and the troubled life he lived as well as Renee's. The film is told using old home videos, photographs, audio recordings, video diaries clips of underground films, very unique visuals set to pop music and some documentary film-making. Winner of the BSFC Award for Best New Filmmaker at The Boston Society Of Film Critics Awards, The Chlotrudis Award for Best Documentary at The Chlotrudis Awards, The Glitter Award for Best Documentary at The Glitter Awards, The Sutherland Trophy at The London Film Festival, The Best Documentary Award at The Las Vegas IFP/West Film Festival, The NSFC Award for Best Non Fiction Film at The National Society Of Film Critics Awards and The SDFCS Award for Best Documentary Film at The San Diego Film Critics Society Awards. Tarnation, took a little while for me to get into it but once I got into it I loved it. The film is a fascinating look at mental illness and family dysfunction and while the film is not always an easy film to watch because of the subject matter the way it is told to us is fascinating as well. I loved the use of clips from several underground films as well as the director's own unique images and visuals which are set to a great soundtrack. The film is very well put together and while watching the film as we see clips of Jonathan's films we can tell he is a very creative and talented individual and by the end of the film he proves this as well. The film is fascinating, visually fascinating with images that will stay in your mind and perhaps haunt you and is a powerful and moving film that is sure to leave some kind of impact on you no matter what you think of the film. With some of it's grainy home videos to it's bizarre surrealistic images and disturbing subject matter this film will definitely not be for all viewers but those who are into experimental films and documentaries should love this film as well. Jonathan Caouette shows us his tremendous talent and this film is one of the best directorial debuts I have seen in quite awhile and I'm sure he has a great future ahead of him. This is one of the best films of 2004.
Documenting life...
jpschapira21 September 2007
I know I should, but I don't watch many documentaries. It's a different world inside of film-making, one in which everything is, among other things, real. Another feeling that a documentary generates is immediacy; a sensation of present time even if it's telling something that's older than you. "Tarnation", a life story, is a striking view of a unique personality.
Jonathan Caouette, its director, is now in his thirties; but it's like he had planned it all his life, like if he had known it would be a completed project all along. Here we see a lot of films inside of the big film, that Caouette put together to show who he is, what he does, how he feels and how the people who live around him act.
More than the rest, there is a focus on his mother, Renee LeBlanc, who suffers from schizophrenia and didn't live with him for a long time. She lives with him now and Jonathan lived with his grandparents for a lot of years, and he didn't know his father but he tried to find him; and he also lived with foster parents and he always knew he was gay.
This and more is seen in the images he put together in a program anyone with a Macintosh Apple- computer can use. I don't want to say much more because "Tarnation", although not great, is really magical and inspiring Magical because is like nothing you've ever seen before; inspiring because it shows and speaks of the creativity of the filmmaker. It will give to anyone who's thinking about doing cinema ideas about tons of things, unstoppably.
And "Tarnation" is also a film for any true cinema lover, because it contains references to a lot of names and important influential cinematographic figures. But influential for him, who, as he inspires us, shows us who inspired him One example that comes to mind is the fact that Caouette and a friend made a musical stage version of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" when they were in high school.
He says it in the film's tag-line: "Your greatest creation is the life you lead", and he is right. So be encouraged, and if you feel that you should make a film out of every day you live, don't worry and write about it; or carry a camera with you through the day. This is the kind of message "Tarnation" wants to leave, cinematically.
Emotionally, it wants to show the truly difficult experiences of a genius who, somehow, had a whole movie in his head and wanted the world to know he's not afraid of showing these experiences with and in it Life is like that, you can't escape it; write that down.
Jonathan Caouette, its director, is now in his thirties; but it's like he had planned it all his life, like if he had known it would be a completed project all along. Here we see a lot of films inside of the big film, that Caouette put together to show who he is, what he does, how he feels and how the people who live around him act.
More than the rest, there is a focus on his mother, Renee LeBlanc, who suffers from schizophrenia and didn't live with him for a long time. She lives with him now and Jonathan lived with his grandparents for a lot of years, and he didn't know his father but he tried to find him; and he also lived with foster parents and he always knew he was gay.
This and more is seen in the images he put together in a program anyone with a Macintosh Apple- computer can use. I don't want to say much more because "Tarnation", although not great, is really magical and inspiring Magical because is like nothing you've ever seen before; inspiring because it shows and speaks of the creativity of the filmmaker. It will give to anyone who's thinking about doing cinema ideas about tons of things, unstoppably.
And "Tarnation" is also a film for any true cinema lover, because it contains references to a lot of names and important influential cinematographic figures. But influential for him, who, as he inspires us, shows us who inspired him One example that comes to mind is the fact that Caouette and a friend made a musical stage version of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" when they were in high school.
He says it in the film's tag-line: "Your greatest creation is the life you lead", and he is right. So be encouraged, and if you feel that you should make a film out of every day you live, don't worry and write about it; or carry a camera with you through the day. This is the kind of message "Tarnation" wants to leave, cinematically.
Emotionally, it wants to show the truly difficult experiences of a genius who, somehow, had a whole movie in his head and wanted the world to know he's not afraid of showing these experiences with and in it Life is like that, you can't escape it; write that down.
Self indulgent
rawk_out21 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
If you are looking for a movie about Jonathon Caouettes relationship with his schizophrenic mother - you have picked up the wrong film. In essence, this is a self-indulgent documentary about narcissistic Caouette. It actually turned my stomach to watch melodramatic Caouette strut his stuff in front of the cameras. Especially the final scenes, where he is discussing how concerned he is that he will turn out like his mother and seems to actually force the tears out - then goes downstairs to lay beside her on the sofa. The entire room of people I watched this with burst out in disgusted laughter. As Frin said, "From the synopsis I thought it was supposed to be about *her*" - and we were sadly disappointed to watch a film about Jonathon and what a great actor he is and how messed up he was and how talented he is with a camera. I take no issue with the re-enactments, it's the fact that this movie was supposed to be about his MOTHER and her illness, not about how much he loves to be in front of the camera. It took a full hour of watching before there was a scene of his mother that lasted longer than 30 seconds. I expected to be affected by this movie, but it has no emotional impact. If you are looking for a doc about troubled family relationships, try "My Flesh and Blood" or "Brother's Keeper" instead.
Powerful Film, Yet Many Seem To Be Negative
Brina616625 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
As a student in a film class, I am exposed to many, MANY films. Most bore me, don't agree with me, yet this movie moved me in a way many films can not. However, I sense that the rest of you do not agree. There is such a negative attitude towards the movie and it is clearly from people who have a very narrow mind. Yes, how the movie was produced may stray from traditional films, yet that is what evokes the power. Not many other people are going to do a doc. on their drug induced mother, their open gayness, and the horrible life they have lived. Jonathon opens his life to you, from his mother being raped in front of him, to his (and mother's) hospitalizations, it is a feat that no other film maker could or would pull off.
And yes I know I checked off it could contain a spoiler, because if people want to be surprised by the fact that the mother was raped, etc. I do not want to ruin the effect of the film's power on them.
You all still may think it is a worthless piece of film material, yet my personal opinion is that it is a stirring, revolutionary piece.
And yes I know I checked off it could contain a spoiler, because if people want to be surprised by the fact that the mother was raped, etc. I do not want to ruin the effect of the film's power on them.
You all still may think it is a worthless piece of film material, yet my personal opinion is that it is a stirring, revolutionary piece.
Drama Pleasures
jaimie_burguoix8 April 2005
Tarnation isn't a movie for everyone. It is a documentary over Jonathan Caouette's life, turned into art somehow. I must say I found it incredibly troubling to watch it. However, I think that this isn't something negative as one may think. Indeed, it proves Jonathan Caouette's success as director in Tarnation - he, as intended, is able to shock the public, to leave them with a feeling of emptiness and stress.
This strange ability to mess with people's feelings isn't necessarily created by the (very strong) story itself. Despite having such an important role, more than the content, the directing IS what matters. The very saturated colors, the score and the varied sequences of images work altogether to leave us uncomfortable.
As said, Jonathan Caouette and his tiny budget succeed, in movie-making terms. But there's much more to think about - is it ethic to exploit mental illness and considerably disturbed people for a movie? Isn't this the next big hit of voyeurism? I suppose it barely respects the principles of ethics and dignity. But it's his family, his life, so hum.
One thing I must say about this movie is that no one should be sentimentally touched. A movie like this doesn't call for commotion, it is very far away from being pure of heart. Indeed, its full of sadomasochist cruelty, it's Jonathan Caouette's very own public masturbation. He exposes himself to voyeurism, and he gets immense pleasure from it, I'm sure. Hello world, I, the twisted, present you my pain.
7/10
This strange ability to mess with people's feelings isn't necessarily created by the (very strong) story itself. Despite having such an important role, more than the content, the directing IS what matters. The very saturated colors, the score and the varied sequences of images work altogether to leave us uncomfortable.
As said, Jonathan Caouette and his tiny budget succeed, in movie-making terms. But there's much more to think about - is it ethic to exploit mental illness and considerably disturbed people for a movie? Isn't this the next big hit of voyeurism? I suppose it barely respects the principles of ethics and dignity. But it's his family, his life, so hum.
One thing I must say about this movie is that no one should be sentimentally touched. A movie like this doesn't call for commotion, it is very far away from being pure of heart. Indeed, its full of sadomasochist cruelty, it's Jonathan Caouette's very own public masturbation. He exposes himself to voyeurism, and he gets immense pleasure from it, I'm sure. Hello world, I, the twisted, present you my pain.
7/10
Why should we believe in this movie?
javillol23 February 2005
Warning: Spoilers
And I mean Believe, with capital B.
SPOLERS
By watching the first scene, I already hated the movie. His boyfriend arrives home. He "wakes him up". Why is the camera there? Why is there enough light to shoot the situation? Why are there microphones? Needless to say, if there weren't any of the three, we could simply not watch the scene. Two minutes had passed and I had enough. The movie is just not honest (why is he filming himself when he calls to the hospital?). It is just a cry out loud for indulgence. And they are making money out of that. Out of that, and out of the hundred of images of his mother and his grandparents. Just not honest.
I had the chance to ask Gus Van Sant (producer of this film) in a film festival why he casted non Spanish speaking, US actors to play the role of non English speaking - just arrived to the States Mexicans in his first film, Mala Noche. He said he didn't care at the time. Same thing here, they don't care to mix what it is produced to what it is real (as if we were in some kind of Truman Show). I am sorry for your life, Mr. Director, but I don't care for seeing portrayed in such a non honest way in a movie.
I coulnd't stop thinking about "Capturing the Friedmans". That's a great movie! And 100% Asia Argento's "The Heart is deceiving..." is much more brutal, and much more serious as a film than this made-to-cry- film experiment
SPOLERS
By watching the first scene, I already hated the movie. His boyfriend arrives home. He "wakes him up". Why is the camera there? Why is there enough light to shoot the situation? Why are there microphones? Needless to say, if there weren't any of the three, we could simply not watch the scene. Two minutes had passed and I had enough. The movie is just not honest (why is he filming himself when he calls to the hospital?). It is just a cry out loud for indulgence. And they are making money out of that. Out of that, and out of the hundred of images of his mother and his grandparents. Just not honest.
I had the chance to ask Gus Van Sant (producer of this film) in a film festival why he casted non Spanish speaking, US actors to play the role of non English speaking - just arrived to the States Mexicans in his first film, Mala Noche. He said he didn't care at the time. Same thing here, they don't care to mix what it is produced to what it is real (as if we were in some kind of Truman Show). I am sorry for your life, Mr. Director, but I don't care for seeing portrayed in such a non honest way in a movie.
I coulnd't stop thinking about "Capturing the Friedmans". That's a great movie! And 100% Asia Argento's "The Heart is deceiving..." is much more brutal, and much more serious as a film than this made-to-cry- film experiment
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