Featuring: Mark Borchardt, family, and friends
Director: Chris Smith
Producer: Sarah Price
Cinematography: Chris Smith
Music: Mike Schank
U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Every year, it seems that one new filmmaker working on a shoestring budget creates a motion picture that becomes a sensation. (This year's example: The Blair Witch Project.) However, for every such amazing success story, there are hundreds of failures. To succeed in the independent film industry, a director must possess three critical attributes: luck, drive, and talent. The absence of any one of those characteristics can be fatal. American Movie is the story of Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt, a man with plenty of drive, but not much talent, and even less luck. He is one of those directors who invests his heart, soul, and sweat into a product that few will see and even fewer will appreciate.
In addition to being an examination of the genesis and development of a low-budget, independent film, American Movie is also a study of one average guy and his dream. Making movies is Borchardt's passion; it's the thing that keeps him going. Sure, he wants the expensive car and the big house, but one senses that these things are secondary. For Borchardt, obtaining the dream is not as important as pursuing it. In one way or another, this is something we can all relate to, even if our dream is vastly different. Crafting movies imparts meaning to Borchardt's life and gives him something to strive for. His enthusiasm is the one thing that differentiates him from everyone else in the film. They're reactive; he is proactive.
Directed by Chris Smith, who almost never intrudes himself or his camera into the action but allows it to play out in front of him, American Movie chronicles nearly two years in Borchardt's life. The two first met when Smith was teaching a film class attended by Borchardt. That association led to American Movie, which begins on Halloween 1995 when Borchardt is trying to raise the money to produce a feature called Northwestern. It's a project he has been working on for about six years, but interruptions and a lack of funds have frustrated his progress. Deciding that he needs more money to do Northwestern justice, Borchardt decides to make "Coven", a 40-minute horror short that he hopes to sell on videotape. The resulting profits (if there are any) will be earmarked for Northwestern. So, instead of following the development of Northwestern, American Movie becomes a diary of "Coven"'s production - up to the day when, against all odds, it premieres in a local Wisconsin theater.
Roughly 18 months after American Movie finished shooting, Smith brought the film to the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it was entered into the documentary competition. After the first screening, the buzz about the film was hot - it was a "must-see." Sony Pictures Classics came up with a $1 million offer to buy the film (a surprisingly high figure, considering the limited commercial prospects of even the best documentaries), which went on to win top honors. Since Sundance, American Movie has shown up in other festivals, always to great critical and popular acclaim.
Even though Borchardt is presented on camera with all of his warts intact - he drinks too much, has minimal education, and is possibly afflicted with a manic-depressive condition - he nevertheless comes across as a sympathetic character, probably because it's so easy to empathize with his circumstances. His own brother describes Borchardt as being "best suited to work in a factory." Borchardt also has his good points: he's a loving, caring father to his three children and shows great respect and tenderness for his Uncle Bill, an elderly gentleman whose mental faculties are clearly in decline. Aside from Borchardt, American Movie is populated by a pair of remarkable and often humorous characters. There's the aforementioned Uncle Bill, who lends Borchardt money to make his movie while believing the project is doomed to disaster. And there's Mike Schank, Borchardt's ex-druggie best friend, whose bizarre life views and spaced-out demeanor are always good for a laugh or two.
American Movie contains several priceless scenes. One involves the convolutions necessary to slam an actor's head through what is supposed to be a breakaway cupboard door. Another is a very funny 31-take ADR dub featuring Uncle Bill's failed attempts to recite a simple line of dialogue. And, while "Coven" is not presented in its entirety, enough clips are shown to give American Movie's audience a good idea of what kind of experience the black-and-white short offers. Ultimately, this film runs a little too long. Judicious trimming of about 15 to 20 minutes would have eliminated some of the slow spots and evened out the pacing. Nevertheless, even on those occasions when it drags, American Movie never fails to fascinate. Not only does it offer a worthwhile portrait of an individual who embodies aspirations and desires that we can all identify with, but it shows him doing something about them. American Movie may seem to be about filmmaking (and, to a degree, it is), but it's actually much more about the man behind the camera, and all that he represents.
© 1999 James Berardinelli