Tarnation

Tarnation
Originally uploaded by rustedrare.

Just when I thought the documentaries about the average joes of America were getting boring, Tarnation came along and beat my face in with its dirty film stock. The film ends and I immediately thought about my own life, and I think Tarnation wanted that from me. The director (Jonathan Caouette) of Tarnation used his archives of his life to understand his struggles, and as he turns the reflective camera on himself and his scizophrenic mother, we want the same mirror (camera or no camera) in our lives. Jonathan Caouette creates a personal abreaction that he shares with his audience, thus the film becomes a catharsis while we learn from our own ill experiences (I know they all came flowing forward after my viewing of Tarnation). I don't think I want to see it again.