Tarnation

Starring: Jonathan Caouette, Renee LeBlanc, David Sanin Paz, Rosemary Davis, Adolph Davis

Directed by: Jonathan Caouette

RS: 3.5of 4 Stars

2004 Wellspring Drama

You might call this knockout debut from Jonathan Caouette, 32, a documentary, since he put it together on a computer for $218 from home movies and other artifacts of growing up gay and lving in Texas and New York with a mentally damaged mother. From age eleven, Caouette sidesteps trauma with musicals, horror flicks and pop-culture remnants that heal his psychic wounds. The result is a film that defies description. I'd call it some kind of miracle.