Tarnation (2003)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jonathan Caouette

Writer:

Jonathan Caouette (written by)

Release Date:

10 November 2004 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Your greatest creation is the life you lead

Plot:

Filmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more -- culled from 19 years of his life.

Plot Keywords:

Video | Child Abuse | Rape | Lithium | Autobiographical

Awards:

8 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Renee Leblanc	...	Herself
Jonathan Caouette	...	Himself
Adolph Davis	...	Himself
Rosemary Davis	...	Herself
David Sanin Paz	...	Himself
Joshua Williams	...	Himself
Michael Cox	...	Guy cussing in short film
David Leblanc	...	Himself
Stacey Mowery	...	Herself
Michael Mouton	...	Himself
Greg Ayres	...	Himself (as Bam-Bam)
Vanda Stovall	...	Herself
Dagon James	...	Himself
Vivian Kalinov	...	Herself (as Girl in Student Film)
Steve Caouette	...	Himself
Lisa Berri	...	Blue Velvet cast
Kelli Brisbane	...	Blue Velvet cast (as Kellie Brisbane)
Mike Smith Rivera	...	Blue Velvet cast (as Apocalypse Clown)
Miek Coccia	...	Blue Velvet cast
Caity Creitz	...	Blue Velvet cast
Daniel Letterle	...	Blue Velvet cast
Sterling Price McKinney	...	Blue Velvet cast
Michael Sillery	...	Blue Velvet cast
Layard Thompson	...	Blue Velvet cast

Directed by
Jonathan Caouette

Writing credits
Jonathan Caouette		(written by)

Produced by
Vanessa Arteaga	....	executive producer
Jason Banker	....	associate producer
Jonathan Caouette	....	producer
Marie Therese Guirgis	....	executive producer
John Cameron Mitchell	....	executive producer
Gus Van Sant	....	executive producer
Ryan Werner	....	executive producer
Stephen Winter	....	producer

Original Music by
John Califra
Max Avery Lichtenstein

Cinematography by
Jonathan Caouette

Film Editing by
Jonathan Caouette
Brian A. Kates		(co-editor)

Production Management
Robert Warmflash	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Jonathan Caouette	....	sound
Sean England	....	digital archivist
Lora Hirschberg	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brandon Proctor	....	sound mix technician
Daniel Sperry	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Dan Sperry)

Visual Effects by
Jason Banker	....	digital effects

Editorial Department
George Bunce	....	on-line editor: high definition video
Don Ciana	....	color timer
Michael Haertlein	....	post-production assistant
Peter Heady	....	on-line editor: HDTV
Florence Holdeman	....	assistant editor
Brian Patchett	....	assistant editor: high definition
Jamila Qazi	....	editing coordinator
Shelby Siegel	....	additional editor

Music Department
Jim Black	....	music supervisor
John Califra	....	orchestral score producer
John Califra	....	orchestrator
Milan Cimfe	....	orchestral score producer
Milan Cimfe	....	score ProTools operator
Pavel Karlik	....	assistant to score recording engineer
Pavel Karlik	....	orchestral score producer

Other crew
Mickey Cottrell	....	publicist
Tristan Cowen	....	assistant to producer
Peter Cross	....	legal counsel
Mayur Deshmukh	....	production assistant
Don Farber	....	legal counsel
Tenley Gillmore	....	production assistant
Michael Haertlein	....	production assistant
Roberta Morris Purdee	....	rights and clearances
Troy Nuyens	....	production assistant
Joe Pagano	....	plant manager
Wade H.W. Rudolph	....	production assistant (as Wade Rudolph)
Tracey Soast	....	video coordinator
Joe Violante	....	technical advisor

Thanks
Tristan Cowen	....	thanks
Roger Ebert	....	thanks
Krystal Kennedy	....	thanks
Paul Morrissey	....	thanks
Dolly Parton	....	thanks
David Sanin Paz	....	special thanks
Michael Sillery	....	special thanks
Stephen Sprouse	....	special thanks
Michael Thornton	....	thanks
Dany Wolf	....	thanks

Distributors

• Filmmuseum Distributie (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Herald Film Company (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• U Talkin 2 Me (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Wellspring Media (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• BBC Storyville (2006) (UK) (TV)
• Four Films (2006) (Chile) (all media)

Other Companies

• F.I.L.M. Archives  archival film
• Home Movie Project  super 8 transfers
• Karmic Release Ltd.  rights and clearances
• Postworks New York  digital intermediate
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound
• Sono Recording Studios  score recorded at (as Sono Studios)

Runtime:

88 min | Argentina:88 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:14 (video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | Norway:15 | Japan:PG-12

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Trivia:

Was edited with Apple Computer's "iMovie" - a free DV editing program for Macintosh computers.

Movie Connections:

References Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Soundtrack:

It's All Over Now Baby Blue

please read this..

I thought this movie was a masterpiece and something a lot of people really should see. I disagree with what some of the other people have been saying on this, because you don't need to identify with this movie. Its not meant to only effect people who have mentally ill parents or are homosexual. A movie doesn't have to be suited to you for you to enjoy it, that's a really selfish thing to say. The fact that someone is showing what its like using their own life in complete truth is amazing. (to some of the people who commented): stop criticizing everything that isn't perfect and not as entertaining as you wanted it to be and try and learn something from it. It seems like no one can just once put themselves in someone else's shoes and see what their lives are like without complaining and being disgusted. Try to be more open minded and give something a chance without prejudice. Its just like if you do something and the whole time your saying in your head how much you hate it, your obviously not going to like it.

I don't really care though, because I really liked it. It just makes me mad when people can just trash such hard work. So what, the movie was upsetting, you didn't have to actually be put through it, why are you complaining.

In contrast I think the movie was very uplifting how it turned out. Although I can agree that its not something you would watch if you just want to be entertained, but its still worth watching and I can guaranty that if you see it with good expectations, you'll like it. It was an extremely interesting film and also very much original. I definitely recommend it to anyone that is interested in psychology. The movie itself is very well shot and has great sound and music. Again, I think most people will be happy they saw it and please disregard what others say (and what I say). See it and decide for yourself.