Week 6 Screening 1.

American Movie. 1999. Chris Smith.

Netflix

IMDB;

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_movie/

American movie is a documentary that follows the endeavors of Mark Borchardt and friends for two years as he attempts to complete his feature length film. Although it is pitched as a documentary the content of the film is portrayed comically to the extent that it lends itself to the mockumentary genre. The main characters that the documentary follows are unselfconscious in their demeanor, this lack of self-awareness allows for an accurate warts and all portrayal of their adventures. If it is the characters that make the content in personal documentaries than the characters in this documentary unintentionally provide copious amounts of content. Comedy is the expression of contrasted ideas, the ideas of Mark Borchardt are at such variance from others they ensuing scenarios are ripe for exposition by the filmmakers.

The film makes extensive use of juxtaposition in its editing, cutting between scenes of seriousness and farce. This editing technique has the effect of emphasizing the ludicrous nature of the situation even if this is not an authentic reflection of how the events unfolded. This straying from a faithful rendering of what occurred with juxtaposition makes for entertaining viewing. But the sacrificing of fidelity by the contrast of different circumstances is where it strays from documentary and lends itself to mockumentary. If for example the filmmakers had taken the view that Marks obsession with finishing the film was having a negative effect on those around him and preventing him from growing up, the film could have had a completely different tone. As it stands the finished film we see is molded by the filmmakers perception of what was occurring. Having followed the documentary subjects over the course of two years the documentary producers are bound to develop a relationship with them. What effect this relationship has on the outcome of the film is hard to know but the ensuing relationship is mirrored in their portrayal in the film. The filmmaker’s perception of the subjects of the documentary would have a bearing on the shape and content of the finished product.