American Movie

(1999)

★ 7.5 IMDb · 287 votes

Genres: Documentary, Comedy

Year: 1999

Runtime: 104 мин

Country: United States of America

Director: Крис Смит

Cast: Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Tom Schimmels, Monica Borchardt, Alex Borchardt, Chris Borchardt, Ken Keen, Matt Weisman, Bill Borchardt, Cliff Borchardt

Plot

American Movie documents the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family, financial decline, and spiritual crisis, American Movie is a portrayal of ambition, obsession, excess, and one man's quest for the American Dream.

On the northwest side of Milwaukee, Mark Borchardt dreams the American dream: for him, it's making movies. Using relatives, local theater talent, slacker friends, his Mastercard, and $3,000 from his Uncle Bill, Mark strives over three years to finish "Coven," a short horror film. His own personal demons--alcohol, gambling, a dysfunctional family--plague him, but he desperately wants to overcome self-doubt and avoid failure. In moments of reflection, Mark sees his story as quintessentially American, and this film explores the nature and nuance of his dream.