Catfish

The film centers around photographer Yaniv "Nev" Schulman, recorded by Ariel Schulman, and Henry Joost. This is all I'm going to reveal about the plot, because I strongly believe that you should see this movie knowing virtually nothing about it. If I even gave a synopsis, I'd be giving too much away.

It's a film with a rather dark tone, and smartly edited by Zachary Stuart-Pontier. The documentary does make some strong points, such as "Who is this person?" "Who can I trust?" "What's real, and what's falsehood?" It makes one wonder what length some will go to hide the truth, and wonder what they would do in a situation like Nev's.

The film starts off rather charming, but eventually the film ends up becoming so nervously unsettling, and emotionally devastating that it's painful to watch. I know it made me not want to know what happen, because it just so hard to fathom, but I just decided to grit my teeth, and keep watching. The film is highly thought provoking, question raising, and the tone Joost, and Schulman set helps the film immeasurably.

The film is hardly ever pretty to watch, but am eye opener to be certain.

I give Catfish *** out of ****

This movie is over hyped as a thriller but I can honestly say that the only thrilling part was right before the reveal of the twist. The story it built up very well and the acting is pretty great. I laughed at many point of the film and it definitely hooked me into the story and I felt almost nervous for what was going to happen since all the trailers and promos talked about thrilling scenes. I was kind of disappointed at the fact that it was nothing close to actually being a thriller. The twist was very interesting, and close to the heart since I know it happens in real life. This is a more extreme version of internet communication gone wrong. I won't say what happened since it is an actual interesting movie, but don't expect the movie to be a thriller, or else you will leave the movie with your head down and wanting your money back.

Don't be put off by the jumpy, seemingly disconnected scenes at the beginning of this film. I nearly hit the eject button thinking that this was nothing more than an amateurish attempt at an 'artsy' film. Just stay with it and you will soon be drawn into an intriguing real life story with a surprisingly emotional twist at the end. The film stirs up a range of emotions that you rarely experience in todays high budget, digitized action flicks. I wish that I could tell you more but that would spoil the whole thing! I will only say this; the film could not have been done prior to the days of social networking where "friends' can pour out their innermost thoughts for the world to read. A very humanistic portrayal of the strengths, talent and weaknesses behind the faces that you see every day at the grocery store or walking down the street. See it and resist the temptation to 'tell all' when you recommend this excellent documentary film to others.

This movie is kind of a intimate psychological documentary. It has certainly a very small plot, but it is incredibly moving. It lets you enter the privacy of mostly common people committing very common sins like a million other people commit every day. And it shows the emotional impact of it that can change your life. The cinematography and storytelling style is very modern and reminds of creating a video blog. Also the implications of social media in everyday life does certainly play a role in the plot. But I wouldn't say that the movie is too self-reflective or pays too much attention for the online media. The emphasis lies on the real social relationship that is developing between the characters and the lies on which it is built. Very well executed, very sensitive, very touching, very worth watching.

Most human beings have two eyes. One left eye, and one right eye. Catfish pries open your third eye above the two you were born with. That eye is the eye to sense bulls*** from a mile away. It makes you think about the people you associate with online, and the people you come across with on Facebook, the oh-so popular networking site.

Upon finishing this film, I was unsure of what to think of it. "Real or fake?" was the question that popped in my head. Could this be just another false documentary teaching us a lesson, but using actors to portray realistic people? Or was this an authentic documentary showcasing one person's real life experience on the site, and having his brother and friend film it all? My opinion is that this is reminiscent of a reality show. Some scenes are fiction, but somethings are authentic. I really can't say if this is real or fake. But I assume 70% or less is real.

The plot is one of those like Paranormal Activity where you can't reveal too much or the whole thing is ruined. Basically, Young New York photographer Yaniv Schulman's life is put on film by brother Ariel Schulman and friend Henry Joost. They show his relationship with a supposedly eight year old girl on Facebook named Abby who is a child prodigy when it comes to painting. Yaniv will send pictures to Abby, and is told Abby paints them with remarkable talent.

As time passes, Niv shows extreme interest for Abby's family, including her alleged half-sister Megan, and the mother Angela. Once he uncovers some evidence I won't spoil, he goes out to meet the family. There is when the movie becomes a total enjoyment.

Whether fact or fiction, the film makes you think. It succeeds in making you ponder or contemplate the people you associate with on the web. Being an avid reviewer, a social networker, a Tweeter, a Facebooker, a Youtube personality I wonder who is watching my videos. Of course my personal information is nothing but private unless I have a strict build up with the person I discuss with. I haven't ran into any true problems on the web. I consider myself extremely grateful and lucky for that.

Catfish succeeds in being an entertaining time capsule of what will soon be the once popular social network. Facebook will eventually die out just like Myspace, but we will have this film to look back on. While 2010 had one more movie based on the site called The Social Network, Catfish deals with Facebook and it's people. TSN was all about the creation of the site, and the problems Zuckerberg and his friends ran into. That was a totally different film, and well worthy of the Golden Globe wins. Catfish is a one of a kind species that shouldn't be thrown back into the water.

Starring: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman, Yaniv Schulman. Directed by: Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost.