18 Great Noughties Movies You May Have Missed

Lesser spotted, but equally deserving...

By Mark PowellDec 11th 2009
18

Tarnation (2003)

In A Nutshell: Texan DIY misfit Jonathan Caouette’s no-budget, camcorder-shot account of growing up a gay man in the shadow of his single mum Renee’s mental illness.

Why You May Have Missed It: It cost Caouette an alleged $218 to make, which - although additional funding was later provided by indie distributor Wellspring Media to pubicise and score the project, didn’t leave a whole lot of budget left for a grand international marketing campaign. The first we UK-types ever really heard of it was a pretty low-key DVD release.

Why Missing It Is Mad: It’s just one of those rare documentaries that gets right under the skin of the issue, lent an almost unrivalled sense of intimacy by Caouette’s proximity to his subjects.

What’s harder to take for granted is that it remains gritty and soulful throughout, but never self-pitying - partly a welcome knock-on effect, one assumes, from the fact that it was shunted together on iMovie long after the fact, Caouette cherry-picking retrospectively from over two decades’ worth of Super-8 footage.

Inspiring in the extreme.

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Comments

    • Hadouken76

      Dec 11th 2009, 15:39

      id like to add that zatoichi, twilight samurai, dirty pretty things, in search of a midnight kiss, dead mans shoes to that list and even though it came out in 1998 i still think legend of 1900 is an underated gem

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    • sjsmith88

      Dec 11th 2009, 18:28

      I didn't miss You and Me and Everyone We Know, I caught it. Wish I hadn't. Following your 4-star review I had it in my head that I was in for a pleasant little indie. Instead it was your run-of-the-mill pretentious art-house rubbish. Dreadful.

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    • skinjob

      Dec 12th 2009, 8:38

      I'd like to add taxidermy - not a pleasant film to watch by any stretch of a twisted imagination but worth watching for the second and third acts on its own and the climactic scene is one that will stay wih me for a long time! if swallowed - do not induce vomiting!!

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    • namedropper

      Dec 13th 2009, 14:24

      We call them Neds and not Chavs up our way and I thought Sweet Sixteen was mainly set in Greenock and not the Port! Anyway I'd like to add Dear Frankie as a movie also set in the same area. Cracking performances from all concerned but especially the child playing Frankie. Will bring a tear to your eyes! Still hoping that Gerard Butler and Emily Mortimer will get together at some point!

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    • domduck

      Dec 14th 2009, 11:21

      The Year of the Dog should be in here - and Waitress. The perfect hangover double-bill.

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