AMERICAN MOVIE

"Have the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness been assimilated into the dream of making movies in the collective American consciousness? This is the fundamental question raised in American Movie; Chris Smith’s documentary about the struggles of Mark Borchardt. Mark aspires to make a film in the obscurity of Milwaukee, far from the dazzling lights of Hollywood. Quite apart from Mark’s almost manic passion for his project, he and his friends seem obsessed by the vision of Hollywood presented in glamour magazines. When Mike, one of Mark’s friends is asked why he’s involved in the project, his answer is "So I can be a famous movie producer." Implicit in the statement is the notion that there are no non-famous producers (come to Australia and see, buddy). Mark and his cohorts, family and assorted acquaintances all seem so grotesque they could easily be the product of a scriptwriter’s imagination. Indeed, I wasn’t entirely convinced some scenes in the film weren’t staged for the benefit of the cameras. Still, it’s billed as a documentary, not cinema vérité, so I’m happy to accept the film represents reality even if the hand of the director is on parts of it. At times hilarious, at times heartbreaking, American Movie is a fascinating examination of a man struggling against all the odds to realise his aspirations. While you may not exactly like Mark and his friends, anyone who’s had to strive for anything will relate to the journey they take. It’s like Mark says in the film "Life is kinda cool sometimes."
David Edwards

"Chris Smith's winner of the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury prize, American Movie, is a most absorbing piece of work. Perhaps more heartwrenching that it is funny, and it can be very funny, Smith's choice of following Mark Borchardt through two years of determination and self sabotage in getting Coven made was inspired. Borchardt's world is populated by oddities and it's here that the difficulty with the humour comes. If it were a work of fiction, then laughs would abound. But there are times when watching American Movie that we can't help but just feel plain sorry for the people in it. None more so than his best buddy, Mike Schank. This guy is a walking advertisement for never going near drugs. There seems to be few brain cells left. Yet we love him. We do laugh when he talks about overdosing and being saved in the hospital only to reach down into his pockets to find his mum has taken the acid he thought he'd take once he knew he was OK. And we smile when we learn that his AA sponsor drives him to Gambler's Anonymous meeting to help with his addiction to scratchies. Borchardt himself is not so loveable with his drinking and his do anything to get the film made approach which includes not paying child support and (but this is hysterically funny) repeatedly banging the head of one of his actors into a cupboard which simply won't break. In the end though we do empathise with Smith's protagonist as we realise his life would be even more of a dead end without his impossible dream. But is it patronising?"
Lee Gough