Hey, all. "Moriarty" here. I'm posting this report that I just got in here at the Labs. It was scribbled on the back of some forged prescription pads and shoved into an empty medicine bottle when we found it on the doorstep this morning. As Harry Lime mentions, he came here to the Labs to see AMERICAN MOVIE, a film that I dearly love. I don't know how to write about it, though. You see, I don't think the film's the comedy hit that I keep hearing it described as. True, there are parts that are laugh out loud funny, but this isn't a joke. This is real. Chris Smith's film is heartbreaking at times, and anyone who has ever felt the burning desire to make films has got to empathize with Mark Borchardt on some level. I think the most desperate laughs in the film come from audiences who are sure they're more "together" than Borchardt and his group of friends. I'm not sure they're always right. Anyway, I'll let Harry fill you in. Find this movie. Support this movie. Enjoy your weekend. Between this, DOGMA, THE MESSENGER, and the films already out, it's a wonderful time to have $8.
I got a call the other day from the Professor himself, the mighty Moriarty. To be honest, most of the time I don't bother picking up when it's him because he almost never calls unless he wants something. I don't know if it was pity or bordom, but I gave in and answered the call. I knew something up right away because he didn't sound like his usual evil self. He told me that he got his hands on two films that I had to check out: AMERICAN MOVIE, by Chris Smith, and COVEN, by Mark Borchardt.
A few weeks earlier he told me a little about these two films and how they're connected. AMERICAN MOVIE is a poignant documentary which follows a remarkable Minnesota-based no-budget auteur, Mark Borchardt, on a three year movie making odyssey. Mark's story is a familiar one. At a very young age he was bitten by the movie bug and ever since he's had nothing but contempt for the idea of working a regular 9 to 5 job and is ferociously single-minded about making movies for a living. Unfortunately, his bills are stacking up, his family seems to have little faith in him ever succeeding, and he's having trouble completing his current project, NORTHWESTERN.
From the moment Mark comes on screen in the film's opening, it's obvious he's got a gift for selling himself and convincing others to take part in his dream. He's a cross between Ed Wood and Jack Nicholson's R. P. McMurphy. He has a fascinating way with words; even if he doesn't make any sense, somehow he does. In an early scene when he's pitching a potential backer (his elderly Uncle Bill), he holds up a headshot of a stunning actress and proclaims, "she wants to be in your movie." It sounds like B.S. at first, but as I got deeper into the film I realized that it's not because Mark believes one hundred percent in what he's preaching. Uncle Bill, who we also follow throughout the documentary, decides to invest in Mark's venture even though he's sure he'll never see a finished product or his money again.
The documentary traces Mark's career from his very first film, an out-of-focus silent entitled THE MORE THE SCARIER, to his present projects. Along the way, he's made a slew of THE MORE THE SCARIER sequels and an odd piece simply called I BLOW UP. Even though we only get a quick glimpse of I BLOW UP, which looks like Sam Raimi meets Andy Warhol, I'm so hooked on it that I've gotta track down a video copy. Actually, I'm hoping that someday all his early works will be made available on home video. They're crude and laced with violent imagery, but like early Raimi and Romero, display passion and potential. Flash forward a decade or so: Mark's now got three children, child support payments past due, and a custodial job he hates at a cemetary. It seems the probability that he'll ever break through with his career is slim to none. In interviews, his brothers openly have little faith. Even his parents, who clearly love him, aren't optimistic. Devoted to his craft, however, Mark decides to push forward with his short film, COVEN, when NORTHWESTERN falls apart.
COVEN is about a writer who seeks help for his addictions at a support group forum which turns out to be a sinister coven of dark cloaked, possibly supernatural stalkers. As Mark puts the film together, it's obvious COVEN is a big deal for him. He's shooting it on 16mm black and white reversal and is trying to tackle each stage of production as professionally as possible. When you've got practically no money, though, it's difficult to motivate a crew and keep things on track. Although he holds it together surprisingly well under the circumstances, there are times when the pressure seems to get the best of him. Not since HEARTS OF DARKNESS documented Francis Ford Coppola on the horrific set of APOCALYPSE NOW have we witnessed a filmmaker come this unhinged and still manage to pull it out of the fire.
The documentary strikes a beautiful balance between Mark's projects, surprisingly intimate interviews, and candid human moments. It's a stark portait of a guy who's too smart for his own good and too stubborn to give up. I'm reminded of Errol Morris' GATES OF HEAVEN, the Coen's FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI, David Lynch, and Terry Zwigoff's CRUMB. My favorite moments involve Uncle Bill and the alarmingly calm MikeSchank. Uncle Bill will no doubt haunt me for some time and I'll be surprised if Schank, whose guitar work is featured prominantly in the film, doesn't find work as an actor or as a musician.
After AMERICAN MOVIE, we threw in Mark Borchardt's completed mini masterpiece, COVEN. The thing that surprised me the most was that it doesn't give in to convention. It's impossible to classify this strange gem. It deals with addiction and violence with originality and just a touch of exploitation and schlock. When I first heard about it, I pictured an amaturish splatter rip off, which it definetely isn't. Even the documentary doesn't give you the entire picture. As mention above, COVEN is about a writer who gets mixed up with a thinly veiled cult-like organization. Borchardt plays the writer and both Mike Schank and Uncle Bill show up in cameos. There's a particularly amazing segemt in which Schank speaks bluntly about his character's past drug addictions. A lot of what Borchardt does in this film feels painfully autobiographical. After seeing AMERICAN MOVIE, Uncle Bill's sadly ironic line of dialogue hit me right in the gut.
Throughout the film, Borchardt intuitively experiments with style. The opening title sequence is handled with (what appears to be) rigidly storyboarded imagery. As they film gets started, there's some stilted dialogue and some cardboard characterisation that you have to get through, but then he switches gears and we're in the middle of a screaming match that's shot very spontaneously. It's handheld, cut together roughly. It feels like Cassavetes or Altman. I've always been a harsh critic of early John Waters because he would shoot a mastershot and that's it. No cutting; just zoom ins and zoom outs. After seeing the elaborate process Mark went through on such a tiny budget to match dialogue and cut between shots, I now know why Waters stuck with long masters. Also, I don't think there's one frame that's shot at the "proper" exposure. This accidental style choice works for the film, though. By masking the backgrounds it adds unintended production value.
There's lots of ways Borchardt's career can go now. He might never break into the mainstream and remain an underground cult filmmaker. If that happens, I hope he keeps making movies and that they're available to purchase in some format. But what I really think is going to happen is somebody with the cajones is gonna take a chance on this guy. If it can happen for a guy like John Waters, it can certainly happen for him.
Check out both films if you can. AMERICAN MOVIE starts today in theaters and COVEN is playing 24 hours a day on videotape if you've got a copy. I'm not sure how you'd go about getting one, but I'd recommend buying it from the filmmaker. The last time I checked it was just $15, which isn't a lot considering it's a movie that took three years to complete.
Comments? Scribble a note, address it to harrylimeAICN@yahoo.com, and drop it down the nearest drain.
