American Movie
Some films are an acquired taste. Like coffee flavoured Revels, they’re not for everyone. This is the case with the cult Indie documentary American Movie.
Directed by Chris Smith the cameras follow would-be movie director Mark Berchardt as he tries to make his first feature film, North Western.
Mark is a mullet haired yokel with big dreams of making it to Hollywood. We watch as he tries to coax performances out of his best friends and money from his rich, senile Uncle. He even drags his three uninterested kids along to the editing studio while he spends day and night splicing his movie together. It’s a warts and all expose on the young filmmakers lifestyle.
From the perspective of someone who hopes to make films himself, this movie is both uplifting and depressing at the same time: Uplifting because if Mark Berchardt can make a film, anyone can; Depressing because of how difficult it is to bring together all the elements required. It’s instantly obvious that filmmaking isn’t just a case of picking up a camera and shooting. It’s a massive coordination effort, trying to get all the people together at the same time and trying to infuse them with the same enthusiasm that you feel for the project.
Failing to find the funding for his big movie, Mark is left putting the coins together to fund a short film he’d left unfinished three years earlier, Coven. As the screen fades black at the end though, you know that he’ll keep plucking away until he gets there, such is his dogged determination.
Towards the end, the documentary skews off on a tangent, focussing on Mark’s social life more than his films. It could have benefited from losing this spare ten minutes.
Not everyone dreams of making films, but for anyone who’s ever flirted with the idea this film should make up your mind.
Verdict 7/10
Give it a try. You might like it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment