It's one of those stories that almost too insane to be true, and yet it is. The Imposter is a documentary about a young Frenchman (Fredric Bourdin), who in 1997, at the age of 23, posed as the missing teenage son of a family in Texas...and they believed it.
Using modern day interviews with the family, Bourdin and government officials involved, plus reenactments of the events (very little archive footage was available), The Imposter spins a masterful web of mystery of how someone could achieve such deception, why they would do it, and the devastating aftermath once everything unravels. Though the audience knows the eventual outcome of the events, it's the journey of how it all came together and fell apart that keeps one watching.
Even for documentary non-lovers, like myself, The Imposter works not only for the story, but it manages to have a balanced perspective of the sad situation, never becomes judgmental or preachy, and even leaves a little intrigue on which to think, as the whereabouts of the still-missing son are called into question. If only all based-on-true-events stories were told this well, fiction or not.
Wow, I've never heard of this. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteI read several positive reviews last year and decided to check it out when it hit Instant. It's a truly amazing film and I definitely think you'd like it.
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