Movie Night: American Movie

Mark Borchardt wants to make a movie. He really wants to make a movie. And despite immense debt, the threat of losing his kids, a mother who would rather do her shopping than be an extra, and a brother who contends Mark is best suited for factory work, he'll be damned if he doesn't get his movie finished. Chris Smith's 1999 documentary is a beautiful film, walking a fine line between exploitation and reverence, showing us Mark at his worst; walking us right up to the edge of ridicule before slowing down to show us his honest passion and his perseverance in the face overwhelming obstacles. Ultimately, American Movie, offers an endearingly affectionate portrait, magically turning our cynical dismissal of Mark's pie-in-the-sky dreams, into real admiration and inspiration. "The American dream stays with me each and every day," Mark says, and by the end, it's with us too.