Frankly, if it’s well made we could watch a feature-length documentary on the invention of the toilet brush. Not to take anything away from Jonathan Caouette’s spellbinding debut, Tarnation, a Sundance honey that reimagines what a documentary can be. Using his Macintosh, Caouette wove snapshots, Super-8 home movies, and answering-machine messages into a portrait of an American family torn apart by mental illness and dysfunction. Beginning in 2003, when Caouette learns of his mother’s lithium overdose, the film follows him as he returns home to aid in her recovery. His raw display of self-destruction and rebirth announces the arrival of an exceptional new talent.
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