Review of American Movie (1999) by Stuart K — 06 Feb 2015

Directed by Chris Smith (The Yes Men (2003), The Pool (2007) and Collapse (2009), this documentary came about after Smith met aspiring independent filmmaker Mark Borchardt, who had aspirations to make an epic horror film in his native Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

This shows just how difficult it is to make a film, and how it's a lot more than just pointing a camera at something and calling action. This tells the story of how small time filmmaker Mark Borchardt made Coven (1997), a 36 minute black and white horror film.

Originally, Borchardt had wanted to make a horror epic called Northwestern, but that one proves to be too ambitious. So, using the same money they'd raised for Northwestern, Borchardt decides to make Coven, with help from his senile 82 year old uncle Bill.

However, production proves to be difficult with various mishaps and setbacks happening. Mark, a chronic alcoholic, takes to the bottle when shooting gets stressful, but his friend and collaborator Mike Schank, who beat alcoholism, is determined to see Coven through.

It's a true underdog story, and it shows that if you fight hard enough, you can get what you want to make made. But, it's a sad fact that independent films are the hardest films to get made in the cutthroat world of filmmaking.

But, the fact that Borchardt fought against the odds to get Coven made is inspiring.