Real Fake: The Art, Life & Crimes of Elmyr De Hory

I recently watch Real Fake, Jeff Oppenheim's fascinating documentary on the art, life, and crimes of Elmyr de Hory. It not only immerses the viewer in the runaway and unregulated art market, but the film also takes you on a journey of the expert's world and the reliance on "provenance" "connoisseurship" as well as the fascinating new science of "art forensics." The film features many global art experts that are as accessible and knowledge as they are charming and even funny. The filmmaker's down to earth approach to art, and his playful narrative (and sometimes appearance) guide the viewer on an incredible and complex journey to better understand Elmyr de Hory. Ultimately the film stirs a deep conversation that continues well past the film about beauty, truth, and value in something so subjective as art.

What is art, what is authenticity? These are just a few of the questions that you find yourself immersed in while watching Real Fake. What is the value of art when even the experts can't tell what's real and what's fake. If the art is beautiful does it matter that Renoir didn't really paint it? de Hory created the most puzzling paradox the art world ever saw. Decades after his desk art experts are still struggling to separate the masterpieces he created from the ones created by the actual masters. I doubt even Sherlock Holmes could solve this one.

If you love movies about art forgery, please look somewhere else because this is not it. A trainwreck of bad sound, editing, and terrible narration by a very unpleasant looking old white guy. Takes a compelling story and utterly ruins it. Very dissapointing.

I love good documentaries about art forgery and theft! So I was eager to watch this film after I stumbled upon it on Amazon. But as interesting as Elmyr De Hory's long, lurid career as a top art forger was it was nearly immediately dulled by the choppy editing, the terrible amateurish sound and the thick accents of the people interviewed. I managed to last 20 minutes before I gave up of this mostly incoherent documentary, Very disappointing.