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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 ****

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

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.

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 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.

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 *****

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.

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.

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.

I caught this last night on cable, after having read about it for months and months, with the opinions ranging from 'it's a masterpiece' to 'it's a masturbation piece' and everything in-between. To me, the movie was not a masterpiece by any stretch; in fact, the film didn't actually convince me that Jon C. is really talented. He's creative, there's no question - the way he managed to cope with the undeniably heartbreaking elements in his life (that would have crushed many other less-resilient souls) by inventing an objective 3rd-person reality thanks to the availability of a video camera shows true survival instinct, and how he initially made the film for less than $300 is of course remarkably tenacious.

But it takes more than a strong spirit and truckloads of tenacity to make you an artist, and to me, Jon still has to prove that. He's in a couple of new films as an actor, which is an excellent beginning, and so we'll get to see.

Why do I feel as though I've watched a young man masturbate in front of me for two hours while in a conference room filled with clergy or nuns? Andy Warhol free form new wave movies come to mind? Woody Allen on speed? This poor boy should be in individual and group therapy for the rest of his life.

I'm glad he made 'art' out of trailer trash surrounds but I guess I'm not feeling any pathos or empathy--just an urge to turn down the volume and/or walk away. It is the same sensation one gets while watching an accident or encountering a street person who didn't take his meds today--but for the grace of God,etc. Such experiences convince me of a godless universe and at the most a hope that some Buddhists are on the beam. My parents were both substance abusers (cocktail swigglers/50s style)and I left this film feeling my life had been slightly left of the Donna Reed Show. I know now why I fled NYC at the age of 32--too many actor friends and wanna bees who were cycling together in their own imaginary worlds. I remember feeling the need for a real dose of average behavior at the time. (Now that Bush got in again, I'm not sure that is a good thing either) Well, good for this young man and his ego that he got noticed. He makes Edith Bouvier Beale look bland ("This is the only costume for the day, I think." "What I need is a manager, but he's got to be a Libran!") except she was much more interesting thanks to the Maysles. Aaah, well, I'm getting old, I guess. I do wish I had that seven dollars and fifty cents for the matinée show refunded, though.

I feel sympathy for Jonathan and his whole familial situation and the rest of his entourage. I'm gay and my formative years were in the mid-seventies to eighties. I'm fortunate not to have come from such a dysfunctional background. Quite the opposite. That doesn't mean I didn't go through some pretty f*cked-up years and still am a bit screwed up. Too many drugs, too many quickies, all in the search of love.

The particular, supposedly unique, self-revelatory story of this film, which is admittedly brilliantly shot and edited, I have witnessed and had to endure so many countless number of times in my life; whether told from a teen hustler in N.Y.C. to an old drunk in a bar, and in the end sounds like the same old broken record. Maybe I'm just a bit jaded.

Without wishing to condemn, it is more than apparent that Jon and his family were/are festering in their own self-perpetuating illnesses. It's a pity. Jon was right to get out. And all the best to him. For those unfamiliar with his particular plight, I'm sure that this film was a revelation. To those of us who have been around the block a few times, however, despite its brilliant execution, the film was a story retold.

Bravo, however, for Jon having the balls (pun intended) to tell it.

Hugh Corston Quebec City Canada

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, 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.

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

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.

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...