4/5 stars

In this election season, the American dream is revisited as a campaign point for both candidates. But how is this dream realized? American Movie is a documentary, but it is also an epic, led by the fanaticism of its subject, the director of a film you will never see: Mark Borchadt.  The camera captures him and his oftentimes reluctant troop of friends and family as they trudge through a mire of difficulties impeding their completion of his film, Coven.

The exposé is driven by the two-sided and immensely relatable approach we take towards examining its protagonist.  On the one hand we have the infectious optimism that Borchadt’s single-minded obsession towards completing his film instils, not only in himself but the community around him.  Even the most sceptical of the project, his senile and obstinate uncle Bill, cannot help but become persuaded to participate in its completion.

Then we have the harsh reality, given to us via the snippets of Coven we are treated to throughout the feature; his film is a dud. The acting is preposterous, the substance abuse among the crew is high, and the audience, who the director believes will be coming in droves to buy his movie, may be nonexistent. Alongside the clamor we a treated to precious moments of compassion between Borchardt and his children, girlfriend, and lifelong best friend Mike Schank.

Whether or not you think his devotion is delusional becomes a side-note to a grander proposition; how much does it matter what we create in the end?  Can blind passion make up for our creative inadequacies?  Hope by its very nature can be misleading and uncontaminated by fact, and that’s what makes it so blindingly effective. But what about confronting the American reality? Maybe it’s better we keep it a dream.

Lenhardt Stevens