The main character and narrator initially spent $218 making this film on his Mac and ended up with something that is remarkably sharp and almost professional, considering he used iMovie to edit it. Caouette pieced the film together -- according to Ebert's review -- from "old home movies, answering machine tapes, letters and telegrams, photographs, [and] clippings" so effectively that it seems like the 30 years of media was recorded with the movie in mind. The feel with which Caouette crafted Tarnation reminded me of Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream and Pi...same twitchy editing and musical style combining to make a powerful and affecting film.
Tarnation is currently playing at Film Forum here in NYC...check the film's web site for dates in other cities.
