Tarnation
Tarnation Image
See the trailer
Metascore
87 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Starring: Jonathan Caouette
  • Summary: Jonathan Caouette's film reimagines the whole idea of what a documentary can be. He weaves a psychedelic whirlwind of snapshots, Super-8 home movies, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, snippets of 80s pop culture and dramatic reenactments to create an epic portrait of an American family torn apart by dysfunction and reunited through the power of love. (Wellspring Media)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    It is a remarkable film, immediate, urgent, angry, poetic and stubbornly hopeful.
  2. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    Harrowing, extremely disturbing at times, but brought to the screen in dazzling pop-art images that make the movie's grim content very much worth watching.
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Parkinson
    80
    For all the courage and ingenuity of this extraordinary film, it's clear that Caouette has actually resolved few issues and that his life is still very much a work in progress.
  4. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    60
    A bold, painful memoir that finds an innovative middle-ground between conventional documentary and a homemade, home-movie collage.

See all 32 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 25
  3. Negative: 3 out of 25
  1. joomjim4
    10
    This is the film I gaurantee you have never ever seen before and unavoidably, will stuck in your head for the rest of your life. The most powerful and inspirational piece of documentary feature and is considered,personally, to be the true triumph of the film's world.
    [Harrowing, Hopeful, Remarkable, Masterpiece!]    … Expand
  2. SEBASTIAN
    10
    What would you feel if you have the possibilitie of watch your life on TV?. This film is astonishing
  3. ShaunaT.
    7
    This film has some good moments, but it is unfocused. there are long surreal clips that occur simultaneously and often nonsensically. it is not nearly a masterpiece, its too much of a mess. maybe its a critic's film, because i love unique and intelligent films and i was not turned off by the depressing subject matter, but i found this film to be amateur-ish and badly edited. some material was very irrelevant and self-indulgent.… Expand
  4. frankT
    4
    Solipsistic bore. mean-spirited in the cornering of the granparents on film. as if they're equipped to deal with his on camera accusatory questions. another failed actor who turns the camera on himself (see Super-Size me for the other one.)… Expand

See all 25 User Reviews

Trailers

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
  1. Star Trek Into Darkness
    Metascore: 72
  2. Iron Man 3
    Metascore: 62
  3. 42
    Metascore: 62
  4. Fast & Furious 6
    Metascore: 61
  5. Evil Dead (2013)
    Metascore: 57
  6. The Great Gatsby
    Metascore: 54
  7. Oblivion
    Metascore: 54
  8. Pain & Gain
    Metascore: 43
  9. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
    Metascore: 41
  10. The Host
    Metascore: 35
  11. The Hangover Part III
    Metascore: 31
  12. Tyler Perry's Temptation
    Metascore: 27
  13. Scary Movie 5
    Metascore: 11
All Current Movies »