Twin brothers George Kuchar and Mike Kuchar were the joyous oddballs of the underground film movement of the 1960s, and are among the small handful of artists to emerge from that scene who have remained active into the 21st century. Born and raised in the Bronx, the Kuchar Bbrothers grew up on a cinematic diet of Hollywood kitsch, and all manner of big-screen potboilers informed their homemade 8 mm epics such as I Was a Teenage Rumpot and Hold Me While I'm Naked, which reflected late-show
clichés in a funhouse mirror while injecting them with a comic energy infused with compassion and humanity. The films of the Kuchar Brothers influenced a large and surprisingly diverse range of filmmakers, from John Waters and Guy Maddin to Wayne Wang and Atom Egoyan; and George and Mike are not only still making films, they've enjoyed long and rich careers as educators, teaching what they've learned about filmmaking to several generations of eager students. It Came From Kuchar is a documentary directed by one such former student, Jennifer M. Kroot, and includes plentiful clips from the Kuchar Brothers' films along with extensive interviews with the brothers, behind-the-scenes footage of them at work, and testimonials from friends and fans, including Buck Henry, Bill Griffith, Gerard Malanga, V. Vale, and many more. It Came From Kuchar was an official selection at the 2009 New York NewFest and 2009 CineVegas Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Kroot's film, with assists from interview subjects like John Waters, Buck Henry, Wayne Wang, Guy Maddin and Atom Egoyan, makes a compelling case not so much for the Kuchars' movies, exactly, as for their independent spirit.
The movie makes the case that the best American filmmakers may be the uncelebrated ones who helplessly turn life into art simply as a means to get out of bed every day.
In any case, the documentary is interesting as a human story. And anyone who loves the Kuchar brothers' films or underground cinema in general will take extra pleasure in it.
The portrait that emerges is affectionate and fascinating. The brothers themselves are un-self-consciously talkative, unassumingly odd and frequently very funny.
You don't have to have ever seen any of their movies to enjoy It Came From Kuchar, directed by one of George's former students, Jennifer M. Kroot. But you'll probably want to catch up with their work afterward.
It's ironic that director Jennifer M. Kroot was able to make a good movie about twin brothers George and Mike Kuchar, the low-budget underground auteurs who have been cranking out terrible low-budget genre films since the early 1960s
While an illuminating introduction to the Kuchars as lasting filmmakers, It Came from Kuchar unfortunately doesn't delve very deep into the brothers as complex human beings.
For a documentary about D-movie mavens, It Came from Kuchar is expertly edited, and it serves as both a comprehensive archival overview for diehard fans and a thorough introduction for beginners.
Singular for the way it takes audiences where they never would have otherwise visited: the living rooms of the eccentric and effortlessly hilarious filmmaking Kuchar brothers.
The world's cinema culture needs eccentric visionaries like George and Mike Kuchar, twin brothers from the Bronx with billionaire imaginations and $1.98 resources.
Kuchar disciples will swarm after selling-out small movie houses to enjoy the loaded array of titillating clips and heavyweight filmmakers dishing catnip praise.
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