Click to read the article
Tarnation (2004)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:91
Rotten:8
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: Using music and home video footage to great effect, Jonathan Caouette has made a very personal and moving film.
Theatrical Release:Oct 6, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $417,541
Synopsis: Jonathan Caouette's spellbinding debut TARNATION reimagines the whole idea of what a documentary can be. Caouette has been documenting his life since he was eleven years old. With TARNATION, he... Jonathan Caouette's spellbinding debut TARNATION reimagines the whole idea of what a documentary can be. Caouette has been documenting his life since he was eleven years old. With TARNATION, he weaves a psychedelic whirlwind of snapshots, Super-8 home movies, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, snippets of 80s pop culture and dramatic reenactments to create an epic portrait of an American family torn apart by dysfunction and reunited through the power of love. TARNATION begins in 2003 as Caouette learns of his mother’s lithium overdose in his native Texas. Faced with the haunting remnants of his past, including a family legacy of mental illness, abuse, and neglect, Caouette returns home to aid in his mother's recovery. Slipping back into the archives of his youth, we watch Caouette grow up on camera, seeking escape from family trauma through musical theater, grade-B horror flicks and the forging of his identity through popular culture. Having relocated to New York in his twenties and subsequently attaining peace in the form of a supportive mate, Caouette discovers that family ties are never truly unbound. He rekindles a touching relationship with another victim of a tumultuous childhood - his own mother Renee. TARNATION is a raw and sensual display of self-destruction and rebirth that announces the arrival of an exceptional new cinematic visionary. -- © Wellspring Media [More]
Starring: Jonathan Caouette
Starring: Jonathan Caouette
Director: Jonathan Caouette
Director: Jonathan Caouette
Producer: Jonathan Caouette, Stephen Winter
Studio: Wellspring
Get This Movie
Reviews for Tarnation
Jonathan had plenty to be woeful about, but the movie is best when it slips quietly into the pockets between his family's dramatic episodes.
'Tarnation': A Filmic Diary of a Chaotic Life, Consisting of Mosaic-Like Bits and Pieces of Memorabilia
Como toda confesión, en la que alguien desnuda su intimidad sin pudor para quien quiera escuchar, Tarnation es capaz de generar desde la fascinación curiosa hasta la incomodidad y el rechazo.
The film is in the May program of the Charlotte Film Society, and even the CFS has offered few pictures this compellingly strange.
Full of real humanity and occasional insight, this is not the most feelgood movie you'll see this year, but in its total honesty it does manage to be important and moving.
There's no doubting the deep love Caouette feels for his troubled mother, nor his achievement in forging such a rawly emotional film from his own traumatic experiences.
Nearly impossible to watch, thoroughly unpleasant yet strangely arresting.
Undeniably compelling, it's proof of the therapeutic potential of filmmaking, but also of our limitless propensity for morbid curiosity.
As a first-time experimental filmmaker, Caouette displays remarkable directing and editing skills.
A soul-baring scrapbook of a film, its audacity surpassed only by its tragedy.
You shouldn’t go see “Tarnation” because it was made so cheaply. You should see it because it was made so well.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



