dopediana
24th June 2005, 05:01
so check it out. this movie is made by jonathan caouette, this gay man, whose mother was a mentally ill woman because of shock treatment she'd received as a teenager. he was raised in a foster home, abused, and then given back to his grandparents. he always had a camcorder with him and the film is a biographical collage of images and takes. he would film himself, dressed up in mod suits smoking cigs or dressed as a woman for example. he sneaked into this gay club routinely as a 13 y/o by dressing up as a little goth chick. he directed a school musical where all the actors lipsynched to marianne faithful songs. his whole life is documented as well as much of those near and around him. his mother who was checked into and out of institutions her entire adult lifetime and she ended up ill and dying of a lithium overdose. it's a really incredible look at how he survived being gay in a small texas town, almost more touching than how he managed to re-establish a relationship with his mother even after so much time. he just used every resource at his imagination's disposal to keep himself alive. every 15 minutes though, the movie took a turn that broke my heart and made me cry. and i REALLY like that kind of thing. i believe that feeling really intense emotion for a while and just letting it all rip out is a very grounding and humanizing experience. it's your duty as a conscious person to empathize as much as possible. which is why i say "tarnation" kicks ass.