Tarnation

I think everyone in the class probably felt the same way about this movie. I have mixed emotions. I think its evident in Caouette's work that he is very talented, and that this is his area of expertise. The mixture of autobiography/biography was so interesting. I didn't think it could intertwine and become one solid story that actually made sense. He was clearly born with this talent, and that's evident in his home videos. I think his impersonation of the southern woman who was beaten by her husband was amazing. He was born to have star power, what eleven year old boy can impersonate a grown southern woman so good?! From watching all of the home movies, I thought that maybe in the back of his mind even at an early age he thought about making a movie. It was really original and refreshing, which is something viewers look for in the entertainment industry. There are many ways we can relate to this movie. Like the professor said, especially now we really have so much technology at our fingertips. We share so much about ourselves via Internet with people all around us. We have powerful enough tools to even make a movie. We can also relate to the character Jonathan because like him, we are influenced and are a product of our family members, and the people who have raised us. It's so sad to think that so many children have had such a hard and painful childhood. It's mind boggling to think that they gave Renee all those shock treatments. We have come so far in the medical field, and unfortunately doctors learned from the mistakes they made on patients. The must disturbing part in the movie, was the uncut long shot of Renee laughing with the pumpkin during Christmas time. It was so sad to see her look crazy. That scene was one of the few scenes that exposed her illness, and didn't try to make her seem as normal as she possibly could be. The grandfather always seemed to be the most put together one in the family, and didn't think his family had a problem. I think it really showed a fathers love when Renee is cursing him out, and he's trying to calm her down and tells her that she's too pretty to talk like that. He also denies Renee's accusations of her parents beating her, and says it's her illness and that they've tried their best. I have mixed emotions with this movie, but overall i think it's my favorite so far.