Tarnation, Director Jonathan Caouette (2003)

I thought it was really interesting how Jonathan chose to start the film with his mother Renee singing “this little light of mine” looking a mess, disheveled, and living in a gross and messy house. This scene really makes the viewer question what is going on, who is this lady? What is wrong with her? Is she sick? The beginning of the documentary also resembles a horror movie with the eerie music and the deranged lady, it is difficult to understand what was going on, but I was definitely afraid. Overall this scene was a very strong introduction to what the rest of the documentary would lead up to. I love when movies start at the end, it definitely kept my attention while keeping me wondering at the same time. 

I loved how Jonathan described the tragedy of his and his family’s life through subtitles and flashes of still and moving images. Besides the introduction, which features a preview of the end, the rest of the documentary follows the temporal order of Jonathan’s life. After seeing the entire documentary, I was inspired by how Jonathan reflected on his life and feelings through images, music and narration. The film as a whole provides a great representation of the emotional rollercoaster that is his life.

Throughout the viewing process, this documentary often made me feel sad, uncomfortable, and intrigued at the same time. When 11 year old Jonathan acts dramatically as a beaten pregnant woman I was shocked, yet could not tear my eyes away from the screen. To see a child swear and discuss violent ideas so dramatically definitely  foreshadowed all the trouble that was to come in his life.

After watching this documentary there were also some quotes that really resonated with me. When Jonathan said “Oh wow… life is a trip … seems like one long dream” in my opinion, this was exactly how this movie was presented.  In addition, when Jonathan’s Grandfather says “it can turn form a bright sunny day to a stormy one” I thought this also reflected several aspects of their family’s life.

Some of my favorite parts of the film were how Jonathan mixes found music videos with his footage, how he transitions through the TV static, and how he films himself filming himself. As a viewer I loved being aware of the creative process that was going on.  When Jonathan grabs the camera, or when he interviews Renee I was amazed to see the film process take place. When Jonathan filmed his grandmother, Rosemary, the handheld filming really gave me a personal point of view and made me feel like I was there. It is the combination of these editing and filming techniques that I think make the film such a success. When the camera focused on Renee singing “I’m a little tea pot” near the end of the film, she is so out of it. I felt as if I had watched this woman's horrible life unfold before my eyes. This particular scene is so long and so painful to watch. I felt as if I should not be watching but somehow could not help myself. 

Overall this film successfully and artistically demonstrates how drugs, alcohol, and unfortunate circumstances can ruin peoples lives. It is interesting to see how much the people in your life can impact your decisions and ultimately shape who you become. I believe that anyone who has gone through a troubling time in their life would find comfort in relating to this documentary.

The movie mrailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLDQL23nutw

Jonathan's 11 year old Performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en7ltF2kCXg

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Director Todd Haynes (1987)

After watching this documentary I now have an even deeper understanding of anorexia nervosa. I think the narration used in this documentary is fabulous as it emphasizes the seriousness of this condition that ultimately killed Karen Carpenter. Throughout the past couple years of my life, I have see several friends, acquaintances, and celebrities diagnosed with this horrible disease but have never had the condition described so clearly as through the subtitles and narration that I saw in this film. It is very important that this disease is brought to light in such a visual and biographical way that makes people realize the lengths people will go to in order to be thin. The amount of celebrities that have eating disorders today make it seem like a cultural trend. Luckily this documentary demonstrates the seriousness of this issue through Karen Carpenter's tragic story. 

This documentary begins using a hand held camera as Karen’s mother searches through the house yelling Karen’s name. These shaky, point of view, camera movements made me feel as if I was the one searching for Karen. I love how Todd Haynes also decided to use dolls to explain the story of Karen’s deterioration. Both Karen and her brother Richard’s lives were artificially presented to the public, which is why the use of fake people to represent them is very fitting. Karen and Richard pretend to be perfect people with no issues when this was not the case. Throughout the video, I thought it was great that the cameras were positioned in a way that allowed the dolls to be moved around realistically. I often forgot that I was watching dolls as I was so intrigued by the story.

When Karen and Richard are in a business meeting, I found it interesting how the camera goes back and forth between them sitting on the couch, and between the man they are making a record deal with. The combination of quick cuts, creepy music, and the man's giant hand makes the viewer understand the horror that is to come. When the music intensifies as a woman is shown screaming and falling, this really symbolizes the rest of Karen’s life. In addition, when Richard announces that Jack is taking them out for a celebration dinner, the music builds, the tension rises and the camera quickly zooms into Karen’s face. The camera then switches to a frozen shot of a huge meal and then switches to a shot of ex-lax. I really thought this line up of shots was a good representation of Karen’s thought process.

I was particularly fascinated by the scene where Karen is trying to walk through her apartment as flashes of the most crucial quotes and images of the documentary are featured including the big plate of food, when she collapses on stage, when her brother is yelling at her, when her parents don’t want her to move away, when her mom yells "Karen", the ex-lax, and the toilet. Another one of my favorite parts of this film is at the end when Karen is on the phone with her doctor explaining how she is maintaining a good weight and then proceeds to drink Ipecac Syrup and the camera is thrown back with her head movements as she drinks this substance used to induce vomiting. The way the camera moves in this scene is not only innovative, but is also descriptive of her personal experience.

In terms of Karen’s music, it is interesting how all her songs in this documentary take on such a sad tone; whenever I used to hear her songs on the radio I always thought they were happy. When her music plays while the scale drops and various kinds of salads are show as meals with a side of ex-lax I felt as though her life was really plummeting. Between the narration, the use of dolls and tiny props, the use of real people, and the use of Karen’s music, Todd Haynes created a unique documentary. Ultimately, Karen Carpenter’s deterioration is successfully shown through the manipulation of a doll that is made increasingly thin.

Karen denies her condition in an interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCCGI8wLdZU