Grade: A | Genre: Documentary Summary: Caouette is an extremely talented filmmaker who has created a deeply moving work in Tarnation. It is the portrait of a family in disintegration, ravaged by mental disease that afflicts each of its members in different ways. There are certain films that come along ever so often that shrug off the words. They defy description and peel off the labels you try to stick to them. They are always tough works of art that make you question yourself and your world. They loiter around in your mind when the film goes quiet and life resumes. Sometimes we are better for having seen them, sometimes worse, but their impact leaves a divot in our brain that will never go back to the way it was before. Tarnation is one of these films. It is a hard, uncomfortable look at a family plagued by mental illness, shadowing three generations.

The human brain is an astounding thing and a very tricky bundle of nerves. Plug in a normal genetic make-up, add a healthy, loving parental upbringing and develop the ability to adapt to life's stressors in a sound manner then the odds are favorable that your mental state will turn out positive. Start messing with those factors like the equilizer knobs on a stereo and the brain can birth some scary things that can consume someone's life. Tarnation is Jonathan Caouette's personal therapy, bravely put on display for the world to witness. It is a truly fascinating journey.

It's never really clear if the focus of the film rests on Jonathan or his mother, Renee, because each of them carries around their own unique set of issues. The film walks us to the beginning when Renee's parents first meet. We are then carried through this family's story, alternating between photographs and a frame of sparse words relaying the facts captured in the situations. We watch as Renee is born and becomes a child model featured in commercials and print work. At age 12, she falls off the roof of the family home, paralyzing her for six months. Either her parents or the doctors mistakenly believed that the paralysis was all in her head, and they put her through shock therapy treatments twice a week for two years.

Tarnation Starring: Renee Leblanc, Jonathan Caouette, Adolph Davis and Rosemary Davis Director: Jonathan Caouette Buy or Rent Tarnation You may also like... Forbidden Memories: A Journey of Healing - Sandra Riggin Capturing the Friedmans One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Email this article to a friend Order "Sin City" today Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba $15.98, save over $14! www.amazon.com Independent Films DVD Club for Award-Winning Films Don't miss out. Join today! www.filmmovement.com NETFLIX - Rent Movies Only $11.99 a month. No Late Fees. Over 40,000 Titles. Free Trial. www.netflix.com

She was a beautiful and troubled woman who got married, though it dissolved shortly thereafter. During this period, she took her young son Jonathan to Chicago without any money and nowhere to stay. The person that gave them a ride raped her right in front of him. Jonathan was pulled out of her custody and passed between her twisted parents (Rosemary and Adolph) and foster homes. He was frequently abused physically and mentally. During this time, Renee rotated in and out of numerous mental institutions.

At this point of the film, the focus seems to leave Renee for a while to settle on Jonathan, but it's impossible to separate anything in his life from her underlying influence. He is dealing with being gay as a teenager when he is diagnosed as having a depersonalization disorder, a dissociate symptom where the person feels like their body is not real and they are more an observer in their own life. The footage he captures on his video camera at this age is very striking and quite troubling.

The most passionate and honest scene comes at the end when Jonathan is discussing his mother and the toll she has had, and is still having, on his life. Your heart just breaks because you know he's doing everything that he can to help this woman that he loves so dearly yet everyday he has to face the disorder that he hates controlling her every thought and action.

The composition of this film is a brilliant piece of filmmaking. It's complex subject matter is displayed with shocking simplicity of super 8 movies, photographs and footage from a handheld recorder. It seems he was born with a camera in his hand, and he's captured so many details of his aching existence. The film is very avant-garde in his assembling this barrage of images. It looks like something that would have fit in quite well with Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground. He builds the mood of the film entirely through lighting and music. The scene where he tells us about Renee's shock therapy is bone chilling. The music is mainly slow and careful: Iron and Wine, Mark Kozelek and Max Avery Lichtenstein (free mp3 downloads available from the later artist). I don't know that I've ever seen another film captured in this way.

It was done extremely cheaply as well. $218.32 was the grand total of the production costs of the original print as it was compiled completely on a Mac with Apple's free iMovie software. Forget El Mariachi and Clerks, Caouette has effectively shown that money isn't an object to upstart filmmakers who want to capture their vision. With enough creativity and ingenuity, truly anything is possible and this film is a testament to that fact.

Caouette is an extremely talented filmmaker who has created a deeply moving work in Tarnation. It is the portrait of a family in disintegration, ravaged by mental disease that afflicts each of its members in different ways. There is no question that the art house crowd will love this film like the discovery of a lost child uneaten by the tsunami, but those of you who may lack such an inclination should proceed with caution. This is a hard film to digest, told in a very unconventional way. It can be uncomfortable, disturbing and beautiful all in the same frame. It will move you, but you have to be prepared to throw away your comfort zone and let the film take you on the journey into all the places that it must.