SummaryThe story of Mark Borchardt, the ultimate independent filmmaker from Wisconsin, who attempts to raise money to finish "Coven," his short film, in order to have the funds to produce his next vision. Borchardt relies on his best friend and his mother to fill many roles in the process including acting and camera operating, and he even convinces his... Read More
Directed By:Chris Smith
American Movie
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
84
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.1
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
84
97% Positive
28 Reviews
28 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
The rare documentary that combines a wildly charismatic subject with an elegant structure...not-to-be-missed.
100
Smith's gleeful, touching documentary records the agony and the ecstasy of realizing your dream, and intangible ways that such dreams help keep people alive.
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.1
85% Positive
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
9% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
6% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
May 1, 2014
10
This movie starts out slow but before you realize it you are engrossed a true slice of life reality show. Coming away from this movie you feel you know these people and would love to share a beer or two with them. They let you into their lives as if they didn't know they were being filmed......unlike most TV "reality" shows where the characters are obviously playing to the camera.....There are some things that are hard to put into words, and American Movie is one of them. If you let yourself get past the first few minutes you'll be hooked
90
This unassuming, insistently entertaining documentary has the virtue of a great subject.
83
But this is pretty honest and true filmmaking, nonetheless; try as you might, you can't detect the leer of the satirist.
80
Touching, frequently hilarious.
75
A tacit auteur-to-auteur endorsement of the inalienable right to make movies--regardless of talent or sobriety or adult responsibilities--is what gives American Movie its uneasy kick.
50
It seems more a geek show than a slab of marketing wizardry.
Oct 21, 2011
10
It's clear to me in reading the negative reviews that those people really missed the point of what this whole film was about. To this day, this movie remains one of my favorite documentaries of all time. The more you watch it, the more you realize that there is a little Mark Borschardt in all of us, a wild-eyed dreamer. While the realities of his life are stark and his relationships with his family and children seem dysfunctional, he is an entertaining figure with idealism that is larger than life.
Sep 27, 2015
7
For me, American Movie lost a bit of its charm since I saw it years back when indie films were in fashion. It is mockumentary-ish in places, which takes away from the film more than it adds. Nonetheless, it is interesting and has comedic value, and I would still recommend it to fans of indie films.
Production Company:
- Bluemark Productions
- C-Hundred Film Corporation
- Civilian Pictures
- Northwest Productions
Release Date:Nov 5, 1999
Duration:1 h 47 m
Rating:R
Awards
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Denver Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
