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Jonathan Caouette, Renee LeBlanc, Rosemary Davis, Adolph Davis, David Sanin Paz

In the making since the director was 11-years-old and completed on a reported budget of about 200 dollars, Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation is an experimental and self-reflective mix of documentary and f... read more read more...iction. Bringing together a collection of home movies, family photos, answering machine messages, reenactments and Caouette's video diary, the film attempts to delve into the filmmaker's experiences growing up queer with a schizophrenic mother and dealing with her 2003 lithium overdose, which rendered her even more mentally unstable than before. After premiering at the 2003 New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Tarnation screened as part of the Frontier program at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Flixster Users

81% liked it

7,160 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

102 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Jonathan Caouette

Release Date: October 6, 2004

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DVD Release Date: May 17, 2005

Stats: 600 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (600)

  • RCCLBC
    August 18, 2008
    RCCLBC
    A little too self-indulgent at times to be considered a "documentary", but all in all a very creative and moving look at life.

    Once you let go and just go along for the ride...you are off on a journey into the psyche of a family in turmoil.

    It's not always an enjoyable jou... read morerney, but it is one in which (after being led through a gamut of emotions) you are ultimatley led back to the point of origin, which is love.

    A great reminder of the fact that while we can not choose our families...we are (ultimatley) in control of just how much we allow them to adversely effect our lives as adults.

    One of the tough questions that we all have to deal with at some point is: At what point do you let go of all of the negative family baggage (that we all carry to some extent) and decide to start living your own life and making decicions based on doing what is best (and most helathy) for you?

    These are some of the hard choices in life and this film really makes you think about them.
  • gator681
    March 12, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Tarnation" is a documenary made by and about Jonathan Caouette. Its starting point is his mother's lithium overdose in 2001 and then reviews the facts of his mother's life, followed by his own, mostly through photographs, 8mm film, and odd film clips(It too... read morek me ten minutes to get the "Rosemary's Baby" reference but still have no idea about "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.") as fed through and spit out by a computer.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Tarnation" is an exercise in amateur narcissism that only serves to make the viewer uncomfortable in a shared voyeurism. The only sequences of merit are when he explores his mother's mental illness and what it is to care for a mentally ill person.(How Caouette made it out of such a situation as a stable adult is only partially explained by his moving from Houston to New York.) [/font]
  • andreasbabs
    March 29, 2011
    andreasbabs
    If someone were to tell you to go make a movie using iMovie, anyone would say no problem. If they told you to make a full length feature using iMovie, most people would stop in their tracks and not continue on. I mean, it's a task that is doomed to be incredulous Even wanting to ... read moredo so may end up disastrous. However, iMovie alone is not an issue with Jonathan Caouette. Using iMovie with old VHS tape clips and answering machine messages, along with digital recordings and photographs, that cover twenty years of history is something else entirely. Caouette has not only enough passion, but enough absolute grief, to turn Tarnation away from being a sloppy home movie and into an experimental nightmare: One we do not want to take part in but we still feel the need to observe.

    Caouette has lived a rough life. He did not know his father until he was in his 30's. His mother was given electroshock treatment for no legitimate reason and she became mentally unstable and, well, crazy for a lack of a better word. Caouette was abused in a foster home. There is oh so much more that has happened to this man. He comes out as a homosexual when he was a young kid, but this actually appears to be the least troublesome event for him. He showcased his strength from an early age and used it as a drive of determination. As more and more happen to him, we ask ourselves "are things getting worse, or are the better now that he can cope with them?"

    The avant garde style is not only uncomfortable at times, it is in fact disturbing. The creepy sounds of reverb seem to always compliment the flashing, extreme close ups of disturbing images such as his grandmother's last days as she slowly goes insane, and a woman, presumably either his mother or a woman representing her, undergoing Electroconvulsive treatment. I am fairly desensitized as there is not one single horror movie that can scare me or even creep me out, but Tarnation struck some chord in my mind. There were moments where I was too scared to see what is going to happen next, presumably like the young Caouette himself. As the movie progresses, it gets less experimental and more home video-like, as Caouette shifts from a scared teenager to a stable adult and possibly into a scared adult.

    This movie is a ride and a half. Caouette is artistic in all senses of the word. His excruciating, never ending nightmare ends off on a bittersweet note as, like him, we can only keep our heads up even with an unhappy ending. This movie is particularly wonderful because of how it breaks the rules, both with documentaries and with home editing software (possibly even free software). Caouette proves that you don't always need the most or the best equipment to make a movie. Sometimes all you need is the drive and the purpose.

    Final Rating: 9.2/10
  • danieljparsons
    May 27, 2008
    danieljparsons
    An extremely unique, deeply personal and very affecting documentary, Tarnation was made for under $300 and is comprised of home movies, telephone messages, photo montages, some 'dramatic re-enactments', candid footage and pieces of 80's pop-culture TV and music. If ever a ... read morefilm deserved one of those 'Originality of Vision' awards, then this is it. Jonathan Caouette expertly constructs all the elements in a stunningly visual way with at times almost Lynchian surrealism, but the film is never less than heartrending. A filmic love-letter to Caouette's mother and a powerful documentary about the destructiveness of mental illness, Tarnation has redefined the possibilities of what a low-budget film can achieve and is a mesmerizing experience.
  • shitfaced8
    May 10, 2011
    shitfaced8
    A really unique documentary about one man, his psychologically damaged mother and their dysfunctional family. The film is made up of old home movies, pop cultural snippets, video diaries, photographs etc. This style works due to the excellent editing job from Jonathan Caouette, a... read morend the end result is a surreal, sometimes disturbing and usually very sad walk through Caouette's shoes. That being said, while the film is a brave and original accomplishment that has done things no other films have really even attempted before, the feeling at the end of the movie is a mixed one. I agree with some user's who feel that this is a work of narcissism and pretention. I have mixed feelings about being subjected to this man's intimate and personal life, even if he is okay with it. While the movie is far from a failure it's not the kind of movie your really going to want to re-watch. Intresting, original, emotional for sure, but the nature of what this movie is still left a bad taste in my mouth.
  • Peandpi
    November 3, 2008
    Peandpi
    Tarnation is a one of a kind movie. Documenting a whole lifetime of horrible horrible things is amazing to watch as it is bleak. Jonathan has achieved something remarkable without trying to provoke anybodys emotions.
  • trisarahtops22
    October 21, 2007
    trisarahtops22
    Interesting look into the filmmakers life - very cool how it was pieced together.
  • KLFilmmaker
    September 29, 2006
    KLFilmmaker
    Weird doc that deals with family and mental illness.
  • analogrombus
    December 9, 2009
    analogrombus
    Heart breaking, moving, scary and all true. See this but be prepared to be fucked up for a few days.
  • jrmcm
    January 29, 2009
    jrmcm
    Damn overrated indulgent boring movie. Van Sant needs to stop putting his name movies just because they have a gay character.

View All Tarnation Reviews

Critic Reviews

Joe Baltake
January 30, 2007
Joe Baltake, Passionate Moviegoer

'Tarnation': A Filmic Diary of a Chaotic Life, Consisting of Mosaic-Like Bits and Pieces of Memorabilia Full Review

Roger Moore
April 15, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Nearly impossible to watch, thoroughly unpleasant yet strangely arresting. Full Review

Bill Muller
March 24, 2005
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

A soul-baring scrapbook of a film, its audacity surpassed only by its tragedy. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
January 21, 2005
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Although aggressively unconventional, it's never pretentious. Full Review

Stephen Cole
January 21, 2005
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail

An astonishing multimedia diary ... all accompanied by a scrolled family history that is as harrowing to read as a ransom note. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
December 10, 2004
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

The movie climbs inside your head and rattles your consciousness.

Lisa Kennedy
December 10, 2004
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

In making beautiful peace with a difficult past, Caouette has delivered a promising vision of a future. Full Review

Colin Covert
November 18, 2004
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Its fierce emotional honesty can't be denied. Full Review

Bob Longino
November 18, 2004
Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tarnation may not always be pretty, but it's pure, powerful stuff. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
November 12, 2004
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

Mesmerizing. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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