Review of American Movie (1999) by Ryan S — 15 Jun 2007

One of my favorite documentaries. American Movie is the ultimate "making-of" and needless to say, Mark Borchardt went through plenty to make his short film Coven. This documentary shows what it's like for an "average" person to make a movie, and shows the extremes that Mark goes through to finish his film so that he can finance his next one.

At times, it is incredibly frustrating to see some of the shit Mark does to set himself back, but you have to admire his indomitable spirit. As for Coven itself, the film isn't half bad (I'd probably give it 3 stars) although it doesn't have the most original plot and has some sub par dialogue and acting.

Seeing the documentary first does help, though, because after all that Mark went through he was still able to make something that is decent.