Welcome to day two of my post-Chicago film fest coverage. Scroll on down to check out all the many film reviews to come. Today I bring you Summer in the Golden Valley from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Tarnation from the crazy ol' USA. Be sure to check out Joe's review of Tarnation while you're at it, as well. Enjoy.
Tarnation
Review by Jon Waterman
****
Jonathan Caouette has had an unnecessarily complex life. His mother, when she was a child, fell off the roof and became temporarily paralyzed. Her parents felt it was psychosomatic and sent her to an institution to receive shock treatments for years on end. Later it was found that she had no mental instability before the treatments, however now she does. That’s just scratching the surface of it all. As a result, Jonathan has a lot of issues to deal with and no good way to do so. He ends up institutionalized as well. He tries to find escape wherever he can, usually through disturbing acting or artistic performance pieces.
This documentary is told chronologically through pre-existing photos and home movies as well as brand new footage created specifically to finish the project. There’s a definitive progression from still photographs to Super-8 to low quality video to higher quality video. The progression in technology mirrors the progression of instability in his mother’s condition and also his progression in dealing with the life he was handed.
This movie revels in its usage of video. He uses plenty of video effects to manipulate and multiply the images on the screen. Normally this technique would seem very amateurish and clichéd. However, even though this is Jonathan’s first feature, the effects actually represent something. The psychedelic, mashing and expanding of the images effectively symbolize the past and present mental states. Caouette shoots a lot of material. He keeps the camera running for many things that seem inappropriate or pointless. It’s precisely these moments that turn out to be the most fascinating. He’s trying to capture his entire life. Of course, he can’t accomplish this feat and several points that are deemed less important are glanced over quickly.
Despite this, the story is effectively told through text. What makes this unusual is that he could have easily recorded it himself, since it is his life. What the text accomplishes is a way to separate the filmmaker from the film. It’s no longer a first person tale, but rather a third person account of this messed up family. He turns himself into a character in a show. Once again, it works. Jonathan is a character and always has been. When you look at the young childhood footage of him acting in a dark room alone in front of the camera, it’s very telling. This kid is very intelligent, a good actor, but he knows a level of darkness that he shouldn’t. In fact, he’s such a good actor, that it’s too tough at times to tell if and when he is. The camera is always on, he knows when it’s on and he faces it most of the time. That has to affect your responses and reactions to what’s going on around you. He is a character and doesn’t hide it.
This is what makes “Tarnation” so incredibly fascinating. It’s a train wreck. It’s a car crash. It could be one of many, many families across the country. It’s so incredibly personal and heartbreaking that it’s tough to watch, but even tougher to stop. It makes you question whether or not it should have an audience or if it should just be played in Caouette’s VCR at home to continue the healing process. You haven’t seen another documentary quite like this and you may not again for a long time.
++++++
Summer in the Golden Valley
Review by Jon Waterman
***1/2
Fikret is a typically disillusioned teenager living in Sarajevo. His neighborhood consists of war-torn down buildings, crooked cops and pathetic old men telling tale tales of sexual encounters to the schoolyard youth. It’s no wonder his main escape is glue-sniffing. Suddenly, things take a turn for the worse, as his father dies leaving behind a massive debt to a stranger. In order to renew the honor of his family, Fikret must find a way to come up with the money. He decides to work with the cops in a staged kidnapping by taking in the victim and holding her until the time comes. Nothing could go wrong here, right?
This film grabs you instantly. The first shot brings us face to face with this dopey looking wannabe rapper. Who else would wear a Wu-Tang lanyard? Right away, you know his character and know that it’s impossible to take him seriously. The great cinematography (by Slobodan Trninic) continues throughout. He works with writer/director Srdjan Vuletic to show the despair of the city without making it seem to incredibly dark and dingy or, more importantly, unlivable. What’s left is a run-down landscape that has this underlying poetic beauty that’s invisible to its residents, embodied by this quote by Fikret describing the jet that flies after sundown, “The plane shines when we are in darkness, because it’s filled with happy people.”
The movie doesn’t just look nice; it’s also interesting and funny. Fikret’s friends work well as humorous supporting characters, which don’t need much depth to make it through the picture. The kidnapped girl is the most intriguing person in the movie. To start, she seems like she’s just out to take advantage of the dumb people holding her hostage, but as the film progresses, her motivations are virtually unknown. You have to watch her like a hawk to attempt to get an accurate read. Fikret isn’t just a dumb kid either. He has this untapped depth that he shows glimpses of on the rooftops looking at the jets and while in the abandoned zoo. He’s not just any other disillusioned teen; he has reasoning and proof to back it all up.
It’s a great, tragic story of a city and a person both struggling to find themselves. It has plenty of laughs, a lot of heart and some interesting, yet possibly predictable twists and turns. The music is good and appropriate, but the cues are too abrupt sometimes. The movie has a little bit of everything, from comedy to romance to action to drama to suspense and it’s all balanced well. “Summer in the Golden Valley” is a diamond in the rough.
Tarnation
Review by Jon Waterman
****
Jonathan Caouette has had an unnecessarily complex life. His mother, when she was a child, fell off the roof and became temporarily paralyzed. Her parents felt it was psychosomatic and sent her to an institution to receive shock treatments for years on end. Later it was found that she had no mental instability before the treatments, however now she does. That’s just scratching the surface of it all. As a result, Jonathan has a lot of issues to deal with and no good way to do so. He ends up institutionalized as well. He tries to find escape wherever he can, usually through disturbing acting or artistic performance pieces.
This documentary is told chronologically through pre-existing photos and home movies as well as brand new footage created specifically to finish the project. There’s a definitive progression from still photographs to Super-8 to low quality video to higher quality video. The progression in technology mirrors the progression of instability in his mother’s condition and also his progression in dealing with the life he was handed.
This movie revels in its usage of video. He uses plenty of video effects to manipulate and multiply the images on the screen. Normally this technique would seem very amateurish and clichéd. However, even though this is Jonathan’s first feature, the effects actually represent something. The psychedelic, mashing and expanding of the images effectively symbolize the past and present mental states. Caouette shoots a lot of material. He keeps the camera running for many things that seem inappropriate or pointless. It’s precisely these moments that turn out to be the most fascinating. He’s trying to capture his entire life. Of course, he can’t accomplish this feat and several points that are deemed less important are glanced over quickly.
Despite this, the story is effectively told through text. What makes this unusual is that he could have easily recorded it himself, since it is his life. What the text accomplishes is a way to separate the filmmaker from the film. It’s no longer a first person tale, but rather a third person account of this messed up family. He turns himself into a character in a show. Once again, it works. Jonathan is a character and always has been. When you look at the young childhood footage of him acting in a dark room alone in front of the camera, it’s very telling. This kid is very intelligent, a good actor, but he knows a level of darkness that he shouldn’t. In fact, he’s such a good actor, that it’s too tough at times to tell if and when he is. The camera is always on, he knows when it’s on and he faces it most of the time. That has to affect your responses and reactions to what’s going on around you. He is a character and doesn’t hide it.
This is what makes “Tarnation” so incredibly fascinating. It’s a train wreck. It’s a car crash. It could be one of many, many families across the country. It’s so incredibly personal and heartbreaking that it’s tough to watch, but even tougher to stop. It makes you question whether or not it should have an audience or if it should just be played in Caouette’s VCR at home to continue the healing process. You haven’t seen another documentary quite like this and you may not again for a long time.
++++++
Summer in the Golden Valley
Review by Jon Waterman
***1/2
Fikret is a typically disillusioned teenager living in Sarajevo. His neighborhood consists of war-torn down buildings, crooked cops and pathetic old men telling tale tales of sexual encounters to the schoolyard youth. It’s no wonder his main escape is glue-sniffing. Suddenly, things take a turn for the worse, as his father dies leaving behind a massive debt to a stranger. In order to renew the honor of his family, Fikret must find a way to come up with the money. He decides to work with the cops in a staged kidnapping by taking in the victim and holding her until the time comes. Nothing could go wrong here, right?
This film grabs you instantly. The first shot brings us face to face with this dopey looking wannabe rapper. Who else would wear a Wu-Tang lanyard? Right away, you know his character and know that it’s impossible to take him seriously. The great cinematography (by Slobodan Trninic) continues throughout. He works with writer/director Srdjan Vuletic to show the despair of the city without making it seem to incredibly dark and dingy or, more importantly, unlivable. What’s left is a run-down landscape that has this underlying poetic beauty that’s invisible to its residents, embodied by this quote by Fikret describing the jet that flies after sundown, “The plane shines when we are in darkness, because it’s filled with happy people.”
The movie doesn’t just look nice; it’s also interesting and funny. Fikret’s friends work well as humorous supporting characters, which don’t need much depth to make it through the picture. The kidnapped girl is the most intriguing person in the movie. To start, she seems like she’s just out to take advantage of the dumb people holding her hostage, but as the film progresses, her motivations are virtually unknown. You have to watch her like a hawk to attempt to get an accurate read. Fikret isn’t just a dumb kid either. He has this untapped depth that he shows glimpses of on the rooftops looking at the jets and while in the abandoned zoo. He’s not just any other disillusioned teen; he has reasoning and proof to back it all up.
It’s a great, tragic story of a city and a person both struggling to find themselves. It has plenty of laughs, a lot of heart and some interesting, yet possibly predictable twists and turns. The music is good and appropriate, but the cues are too abrupt sometimes. The movie has a little bit of everything, from comedy to romance to action to drama to suspense and it’s all balanced well. “Summer in the Golden Valley” is a diamond in the rough.
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