"No one has ever, ever paid admission to see an excuse." American Movie DOCUMENTARY MARATHON

American Movie-1999-Chris Smith

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In a perfect world we would all accomplish our dreams. But in our world, oftentimes we fall short of what we originally intended. The American Dream isn't an easy thing to grasp, proof of this can be found in Chris Smith's telling documentary American Movie.

Following fledgling independent filmmaker Mark Borchardt as he makes his low budget short Coven, we see a man who has seemingly already lost everything but is still fighting for his dream. American Movie is at once hilarious, heartbreaking and infuriating. Mark isn't given a sympathetic pass due to his unrelenting and ultimately sad way of reaching his dream. He is shown for who he is. He still lives with his parents, working dead end jobs, and must constantly convince his Uncle Bill to finance his films.

With a hero like Mark to follow, it can sometimes be hard to jump on board, but when seeing his passion for filmmaking and everything he has gone through to make this movie, it's hard not to at least cheer for the film's completion. In Mark we see everything that is the "American Dream". If you try hard and persevere anything is possible is what we're always taught, and here on display is a man who is trying to do just that. This is where American Movie is able to take a basic premise and make it something tangible.

Is Mark a sad, loser or is he a down on his luck filmmaker in need of a break? We always see in American movies that hard work pays off, all of our dreams will come true as long as we try try try, but is there ever a cut off point? With four kids, an ex wife, and piles and piles of debt most people would say the logical thing is to at least put your dream on hold and take care of those things first. But is that really what the American Dream is? Something that can be paused at any moment to take care of other things and then brought back with the same amount of passion.


American Movie's success is found in it's honest portrayal of the American Dream. Dream's aren't always fully realized, but in the end Mark accomplishes a little part of that dream, and it makes a difference.

Mark's friend Mike Schank is another joy. He is a former heavy drug user who seems to barely have the capability for abstract thought, but his innocent conversation and dedication to helping his friend reflects these men's serious case of arrested development as well as their beautiful friendship.

At various points throughout the documentary Mark shows vulnerability and grows scared of the possibility of not realizing his dream. As Mike shows up, Mark sees him smiling and feels that everything will be alright. It doesn't take much to make Mike smile, he wins 50 bucks on a lottery ticket and looks like the happiest guy alive.

Mark Borchardt: I'm gonna wake up to hell tomorrow, man. Those credit cards ain't gonna look nice, man. But I'm always a man for my word. Mike Schank, you happy?
Mike Schank: Yeah, I'm happy.
Mark Borchardt: How happy are you, man?
Mike Schank: I'm very happy.
Mark Borchardt: Well good, man, cause don't drink. You're gonna set the world's record. OK, man? I'm cooled down, but... Hey I'm serious, man. If I missed somebody or anything, man, thanks a million for, uh, for helping out, man. Cause I... I couldn't of, whatever, done it


It's in little conversations like these that we get the heart of the film. Even though these guys make terrible decisions in their lives, and really don't seem to be bettering themselves too much, their friendship is a replication of what the American Dream really is:

Finding the people you love and spending time with them.

Truth Is Subjective - Documentary Marathon

The search for truth seems to be inherently placed within our hearts. Every generation has searched for some sort of answer to why we are here, and how things got to be the way they are. It has taken art to give us a way to express that ultimate question without ever really answering it. From philosophers, to painters, to poets, they all questioned our existence in thoughtful new ways.

When film came along, we simply wanted to capture, and that we did. Some of the earliest recorded footage of all time are documentaries. These include a man sneezing, a train coming straight towards the camera, or any other number of mundane activities. What captivated the audience is the sheer idea of a moving picture.

Fast forward one hundred years and we have so many styles and forms of filmmaking that it's hard to imagine such a simplistic view of cinema. Nowadays our truth seekers are documentarians. They are out there on the front lines fighting for injustice, examining the human condition, and reporting back to us in subtle, nuanced and stylistic ways.

It's interesting that I begin these genre studies with documentaries because to many doc's are the lesser of the art form of cinema. They are the red headed step child, if you will. They are often thought of this way because many wonder how a director can truly put their stamp on a film when all you are doing is filming people talking. What they fail to realize is a documentary can be just as manipulative, if not more, than a narrative film. This can be both good and bad.

The documentary medium prides itself on realism. These are real people in real situations doing real things that we just so happened to catch on camera. This is the allure of such a genre. But whether or not it is intentional, the director cannot help but manipulate his audience. Each shot is a manipulation because they are telling us where to look. What is important here? They show us. What am I supposed to pick up from this scene? Oh wait, there's a close up on that guys hand and what it's touching, that must be something important.

This is why the documentary genre of filmmaking is so interesting. While it does capture truth, that truth is very subjective. It is at once the truth of what is happening in front of the lens, and how that lens is affecting those in front of it, whether they want it to or not. It is also the truth of the director. Take a recent film, Fahrenheit 9/11, and examine the truth and "truth" in it. Michael Moore comes out swinging with many, many accusations, some of which are undeniably true, others not so much. What is interesting isn't that everything placed into the film is one hundred percent accurate, but that everything there is one hundred percent Michael Moore.

The director chooses where to cut, what conversations to show the audience and even how relevant they are. This makes the documentary the most director driven form of filmmaking. Guised under the umbrella of truth seeking they get away with much more than the average director, and this is one of the many things that makes documentaries so fascinating.

While I examine this genre of films, I want to try and keep these aspects in mind while also not letting them affect my thoughts on what I have seen.

It's Alive! It's Alive!

As previously noted in last months blog post, I have been a busy man. I recently had another article published in CityBeat and should be having more in the near future.

This article is about a great local group called Okay Lindon.

Check it out here.

In regards to this here blog, I am excited to say I have found a little time to start movie watching again. I am organizing my Documentary film study as we speak and will start posting those in June. I am going to attempt to make it a monthly thing with each genre, but as far as documentaries are going I have so many I want to see that it will probably spill over into July.

Here is a current list of the Doc's I plan on studying, I have separated these into different topics I wish to cover them under:

Filmmaking:
Hearts Of Darkness
American Movie
Lost In La Mancha

The American Dream:
Hoop Dreams
Salesman
Harlan County, USA
Roger and Me

Under a Microscope:
Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back
Little Dieter Needs To Fly
Crumb
The Times of Harvey Milk

Quirky is the New Normal:
Capturing The Friedman's
Vernon, Florida
Gates Of Heaven

Injustice:
Born Into Brothels
Hearts and Minds
The Thin Blue Line

So stay tuned because in the coming weeks I will have my schedule up for this thing.

Anyone and Everyone

I am aware that probably everyone who reads this here blog is already taking park in Ibetolis' wonderful 2000's series. I wanted to do a little advertising. so go here and read how it's all going over there. Sometime soon you may see a piece by me to disregard and continue reading all the great write ups on some of 2000's best films.

In news with my blog, I am still keeping it pretty slow as I am writing a little more for CityBeat, which I will continue updating you guys on whenever something new is published. I am also working on finishing up with school and will be writing some essays on films, so I will probably post those on here as well. And whatever I write for Ibetolis will eventually be up here after everyone floods his page with traffic.

My plan to do some more film studies will be resuming once I get a chance. I am going to be studying documentaries first. I plan on doing that as soon as possible but it might be June before I get to do so with any regularity.

Lastly, I recently saw Adventureland and because I'm not sure I will get a chance to actually review it, I must say, it is worth a ticket. It's sad that it's getting nowhere financially, but I hope it finds a life on DVD because Greg Mottola seemingly poured his heart into making this film and you can see it on the screen.

It's me! It's me!

So, in a fit of shameless self promotion I bring you my official published DVD review in CityBeat.

http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-17576-the-boy-in-the-striped-pajamas-(miramax).html

This is really nothing at all. I was just excited, and thought I would share it with you all.

Update Shmupdate....

So it has been nearly 2 months since I have updated this here blog. Honestly, I miss it, and will have some updates in the near near future, but for now, can I please have the floor to give you all a laundry list of possible excuses? Thank you.

Well---these aren't so much excuses as much as they are a way to let you all know what I have been up to recently.

I started working for a local film company set in Columbus, Ohio called Cut Throat Entertainment. We are set to start filming our first project in May, with hopes of completion by July. Along with that we have a number of other short films we are working on, including one I am a sort of honorary co-writer on due to a friends kindness, because he constantly asked my opinion on every aspect of his screenplay. So there is that excuse...

I also am gearing to finally get a one year certificate in Media Criticism and Journalism from the University of Cincinnati, too bad it only took me three years to attain it. Now the decision of whether or not to continue going in the journalistic direction I have started needs to be made.

I have also been interning for a local alt-weekly newspaper set in downtown Cincy called CityBeat and will actually have some writing published in there next week. It is a DVD review of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. And I will be continuing my writing and internship there for at least the duration of the school year.

This along with being a pizza delivery guy, married man, and all around just plain lazy, does not make a good blogmaster. Truth be told, I have seen a few movies this year, mostly lackluster. I would categorize them as good/decent(Watchmen, I Love You, Man), watchable(Taken) and just plain Godawful (Underworld 3). While I have felt compelled to jot down some words about these films and call it a review, every time I get the chance I decide to watch some unwatched episodes of The Office or Freaks and Geeks, or pull out some newly bought DVDs like Synecdoche, New York or Role Models and watch them and their special features, or even finally start reading Death of a Salesman.

Wow, I just typed a whole lot just to say that I cannot believe I haven't updated this thing in nearly two months. Please tell me you haven't forgotten about me?

"The only place I get hurt is out there." REVIEW

The Wrestler-2008-Darren Aronofsky

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I have always been a person who becomes obsessed about one particular thing, and goes with it for awhile and then grows bored and moves onto something else. In high school I loved to play music and constantly wrote songs and played shows, now as a college student I am deeply involved with learning more about cinema. Between the ages of 10-13 I had a different love though. I have always enjoyed the elaborate, the dramatic, even as a pre-teen. My love was for professional wrestling. My friends and I had our own backyard wrestling association(AWA-Awesome Wrestling Association) and we even had weekly "cable televised" events and monthly "pay per view" events, with a championship belt and all. I watched every pay per view and classic match I could get my hands on, I studied the art of professional wrestling.

I say all of that to say this. Darren Aronofsky's latest film, The Wrestler, is about an entertainer. Someone who lives for the elaborate, the dramatic, the main event. Mickey Rourke plays Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a down on his luck professional wrestler, who in the 80's was at the top of his game. Now he only wrestles on the weekends to crowds of a couple hundred if he's lucky. Randy is a relic of the 80's, like the original Nintendo, like hair metal, like long hair and leather pants. He is a part of American pop culture history, and he is fighting to stay alive.

Aronofsky does a wonderful job of allowing us to get into how this truly is a passion in these men's lives, and not only a passion, but an art form. From the back stage scenes where we see them preparing for their matches, planning them out, we get a sense of camaraderie. These men are abnormal, and they get it. They don't do this because they want to be famous, they do it for the thrill of it all.

Along the way we meet Cassidy(Marisa Tomei), a stripper with a heart of gold. She is the only person Randy really entrusts anything to. Even when she is giving him a lap dance, the man is pouring his heart out to her, telling her about his day. This is what their lives have devolved to, impersonal sexual activity in place of real physical intimacy. It is an unrequited statement about the nature of how our society has grown so detached from any type of honest emotional connection. In the whole of the film, Cassidy represents something greater than the usual stripper/hooker with a heart of gold, doing said job because she has a kid. She represents what Randy has become.


Americans have this infatuation with their heroes and for awhile, wrestlers were our ultimate hero. There's something so inevitably American about Hulk Hogan telling kids to "say their prayers" while he body slams half naked men through tables in front of millions of people. It was never In God We Trust, it has always been, In Flavor Of The Month We Trust, so long as that flavor mentions some sort of moral activity that we can connect with.

Randy is a simple man really. All he wants is to connect with someone, anyone, and to wrestle. His failed relationship with his daughter is so heartbreaking yet so revealing that you almost have to look away. As a viewer you cannot help but to see Randy as a sort of lost icon. We wish and hope for a comeback. It's excruciating to see what one man will go through for his passion.

Screenwriter Robert Siegal structures this film in a very simplistic, Hollywood style. He reveals every moment at the exact second it should be, and seemingly follows step by step a Robert McKee like screenplay. Generally, this would make such a film come out about as bland as a rock, but with The Wrestler, Siegal and Aronofsky are able to transcend the usual Hollywood archetype and create something that follows the formula while remaining genuine and organic.

Occasionally, this comes back to haunt them. The allusions to Randy being a Christ figure, while generally well handled individually, overall become some sort of amalgamation of all that is wrong with Hollywood's obsession with said Christ figure.

It goes without saying that Rourke's acting is something to behold. He plays the part to utter perfection, with such subtlety and nuance that it couldn't seem anymore real if we were seeing him literally live this out in his life.


The film's final sequence is a masterclass in film making. While things happen, as one would expect, Randy makes a speech, people come back into his life who he thought he lost, the films final few frames show something transcendent on a level that few films reach.

Wrestling with my friends, playing in a band, writing about films; to me these things have offered such tremendously joyous feelings that other simpler pleasures cannot match. I still remember at age 11, holding that championship belt up and pretending there were millions of fans cheering me on, I guess we live with that child inside of us forever.