Tarnation (2003/2004)
Keeping it surreal!
We live our lives on video now.
At least, many of us do. The revolution of consumer
grade video cameras in the 80's has brought forth
a generation captured in the lens and regurgitated
through a VCR. And unlike 8mm home movies, which were
rather short and required much work just to screen
them, the abundance of video tapes and VCR's make
many of our home movies dull as dishwater and many
of our analogue stored memories collector's items,
sitting in drawers and closets rarely viewed again.
To make a watchable feature film
out of your home movies, you'd have to have an astoundingly
interesting family. This is one of the things that
made most of the "home movie" footage in last year's
amazing "Capturing the Friedmans" so jaw-dropping
to watch. The family we saw in that film was real,
raw, unique and caught up in a hell of a story, one
like we'd never seen before.
And such is the case with the family
in "Tarnation," a feature film, somewhat a documentary,
put together by Jonathan Caouette. Here's a family
caught up in some of the most troubling and sad situations
one can imagine: Abuse, foster homes, shock treatments,
psychological disorders, delusion, drug use, sexual
abuse, trauma, and senility, just to name a few. This
is a story that is fraught with drama and tension
and complexities and it is brought to us here in a
mix of home movies, home videos, snapshots, stills,
film clips, TV show clips, audio recordings and answering
machine messages. It is an amazing story, one that
will amaze most who view it.
But what makes "Tarnation" so special,
what makes it most beautiful, is the boy at the center
of the film, the boy who grew up to make a film about
his life, Caouette. Say what you will about him as
an adult (he can be annoying, manipulative, cruel
and quite the drama queen while either on camera or
holding one), the fact remains that as a teenager,
he is nothing less than a vision of wonderment.
On camera, he creates a life of
silly horror films, experimental films and documents
of his family and friends. He seems like many normal
young teenage boys who wants to be a filmmaker. He
reminds you of sort of a fey Spielberg, a Spielberg
who has been hanging out with Andy Warhol. Although
he is fey, we might not be sure of his sexuality if
it weren't for the fact that Caouette, as a teenager,
in audio tape heard here, talks about being gay.
And it is a moment when he is 11,
with video camera aimed at his face, that Caouette
emerges as one of the most exceptional examples of
the beauty of gay youth ever captured on film or video.
In this moment, Caouette simply acts as a middle-aged
housewife, surely mimicking one of his Texan neighbor
ladies, with not only a humorous and satirical eye,
but also a piercing and profound eye. He doesn't emulate
this woman simply to make fun of her. He mimics her
because he is captivated and amazed by her. To see
a young boy portray a middle-aged Texan housewife
with only his own long haircut and a bandana wrapped
around his head is nearly astounding. Caouette, at
11, can do what many actors and impersonators will
never be able to do in a lifetime. He makes us believe
he is who he pretends to be.
I once read in a book, I think it
was called "50 Famous Homosexual in History" or something
like that, that gay people make such great artist
and actors, philosophers and writers, because we are
so used to looking at the world as if we were outsiders.
As those who are "apart" from the norm, or at least
feel we are, we learn to look at the world from the
outside in. We watch it, consider it, criticize it,
discuss it, explain it and, of course, emulate it,
all in an attempt to understand it.
With the advent of video, young
gay men are now also able to capture this world apart
from them on video and put it on the screen so that
the world can see it through their eyes. "Tarnation"
isn't necessarily a "gay film." It's creator and protagonist's
situation and themes here really have almost nothing
to do with homosexuality. Caouette, the director and
star of the film, in a sense, just "happens to be
gay." But it's hard to imagine a film as personal,
raw, honest, and heartfelt coming from a heterosexual
man. For regardless of Caouette's drama queen tactics
and his narcissistic need to be the center of attention,
one thing is certain: He lives on film. He has spent
his life on video. And because of this, we outsiders
are able to look in on his life. We are asked to understand
it. We are asked to see the beauty in it. We are asked
to see the sadness and the sorrow, the trouble and
the pain.
We are asked to see ourselves as
well. And we do. God knows, even though we are on
the outside looking in, we do.
Notes:
Edited with Macintosh's iMovie.
With many alt_pop songs in the soundtrack
including a few by Low. The musical "Hair" is also
important to the film.
Gus Van Sant and John Cameron Mitchell
("Hedwig") are credited as producers.
The film screened at the New York
Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 2003 before going
to Sundance in January, 2004. It began a U.S. arthouse
run in October, 2004.
Viewed on a VHS screener provided
by the Dobie Theater in Austin in October 2004.
