Tarnation

About This Movie

Tarnation is a wild ride through Jonathan Caouette's life. It’s not your typical doc; more like a collage of raw emotion and fragmented memories, using everything from Super-8 footage to answering machine messages. The pacing can be jarring, but that’s part of its charm. It dives deep into themes of mental illness and family, but in a personal, unpolished way that feels like you’re rummaging through someone’s life. The way he stitches everything together is really distinctive, almost like you’re flipping through an old photo album. It’s gritty, yet poignant, and definitely leaves a mark.

Shot on various formats, including Super-8 and video.Combines personal footage with audio diary elements.Won the Best Documentary award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.Total runtime: 88 minutes.