Tarnation (2003)

Director:

Jonathan Caouette

Writer:

Jonathan Caouette (written by)

Release Date:

10 November 2004 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Your greatest creation is the life you lead

Plot:

Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.

Plot Keywords:

Video | Child Abuse | Rape | Lithium | Autobiographical

Awards:

8 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Renee Leblanc	...	Herself
Jonathan Caouette	...	Himself
Adolph Davis	...	Himself
Rosemary Davis	...	Herself
David Sanin Paz	...	Himself
Joshua Williams	...	Himself
Michael Cox	...	Guy cussing in short film
David Leblanc	...	Himself
Stacey Mowery	...	Herself
Michael Mouton	...	Himself
Greg Ayres	...	Himself (as Bam-Bam)
Vanda Stovall	...	Herself
Dagon James	...	Himself
Vivian Kalinov	...	Herself (as Girl in Student Film)
Steve Caouette	...	Himself

Runtime:

88 min | Argentina:88 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:14 (video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | Norway:15 | Japan:PG-12

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Trivia:

Was edited with Apple Computer's "iMovie" - a free DV editing program for Macintosh computers.

Quotes:

Jonathan Caouette: Am I on? My name is Hilary Chapman Lauralou Gorea. This is like a testimony isn't it?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 20th IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Wichita Lineman

Truly inspirational

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.