F For Fake

I just finished this film and I must say I'm so pleased with myself for choosing this often forgotten Welles gem. I for one didn't know it even existed until a year or so ago and even after then I was less than inspired to see it. The premise did not seem impressive and certainly not fitting of the great Orson Welles. I am always afraid of seeing bad films of my favorite directors and I've heard Mr. Welles has made quite a few. In his defense, though I have yet to see any I could deem terrible. F For Fake more so then most of Welles' films should not be compared with his often comparable Citizen Kane. F is a film all on it's own made without any genre in mind.
It's in fact a documentary of sorts but calling it even that is misrepresenting it. F For Fake is a story within a multitude of stories about lies of all types told in a surprisingly candid approach. Eventhough, Orson is essentially acting the role of himself as narrator I still got the feeling that this was him in it's truest form.
It is also a film about liars. More specifically, it is about three liars. The first is legendary art forger Elmyr DeHory – a name that is, of course, an alias. The second is DeHory’s biographer, Clifford Irving, who later became notorious in his own right for forging what he claimed to be the autobiography of Howard Hughes. The third is, naturally, Welles himself, who cheerfully confesses to starting his career by lying himself onto the Dublin stage and later – by way of The War of the Worlds and its attendant mass panic – into Hollywood.
It might appear wieghty and pretentious from a viwer looking for a more linear approach but this occurs every time those people watch a non-linear film. It's inevitable. As for the others who are excited for the opportunity to expand our means of understanding a story. Then F For Fake is for you.