F For Fake

1973
Directed By Orson Welles


SYNOPSIS

A documentary that focuses on forgeries in the arts. Infamous art forger Elmyr de Hory is first examined... then his biographer Clifford Irving who notoriously also forged an 'authorized' biography of Howard Hughes. Director Orson Welles confesses some of his own forgeries before unleashing another.

 MY THOUGHTS

This was essentially Orson Welles final (completed) feature film as a director.

His genius as a film-maker also prevents F For Fake from being just a typical documentary.
The film zigzags between its subjects in a lyrical free-form fashion, never lingering on one subject long enough to get boring.
One of the great ironies of 'F' is it's 'stream of consciousness' structure. What onscreen seemingly appears to be 'off the cuff' is actually meticulously planned and arranged... so the entire film's structure, in a way, is itself a forgery! No doubt Orson Welles was fully aware of this ironic joke and intended it.



Welles' own narration and on screen presence ties the pieces of story together. His spirited and impassioned delivery and sense of humor make for a very entertaining film. He has the spirit of a young child full of pranks and lies, with a twinkle in his eye. This is most evident when he's discussing his own forgeries, like his start as an actor (possibly itself a lie) and his legendary War Of The Worlds radio broadcast that duped the entire country. He also lies stating Citizen Kane was originally to be about Howard Hughes and would have starred Joseph Cotten in the lead. Cotten appears, to back up his pal's false claims, duping the audience. These little lies build until we're treated to a very big one at film's end.



Any film geek should definitely seek this film out, just to study its structure, pacing and editing. On the technical side, it's just as engrossing as Welles' Citizen Kane.

The 'art' of forgeries may seem like a weak topic for a feature film documentary... but 'F' is more than just  forgeries. It examines what art is... and how we look at it. The paintings may be fakes, but are they not art? The works don't physically change once we find them to be frauds, but we judge them differently.
Welles also hits on other weighty topics like death... and that life may just be one big illusion.

F For Fake is a unique and engaging piece of cinema from one of it's masters.