The Imposter

A 13 year old boy disappears from a small town in Texas, three years later Police in Spain alert authorities in the US, against all odds it appears that child has been found....or has he?

I watched this 'movie' not knowing very little about it, and after 10 minutes or so I was puzzled, is this a mocu-mentary or based on a true story? surely it couldn't be as the story was so bizarre!!

Filmed in the same style as the TV show 'Banged Up Abroad', part interview clips with the real people, part reconstructed key moments with actors, this is a quite astonishing story and well worth a viewing.

I saw this film at it's European premiere last night at the Edinburgh Film Festival and I was very surprised. The first 1/3 of the film is a well stylized documentary but then this story, which goes from implausible to downright absurd. If the story wasn't true, you would find yourself thinking that the director was trying to string you along and at the very end pop out and say "naw, I was just kidding". There are so many parts of it the require you to suspend belief only to remind yourself it was reality.

While there maybe no new information, the ability to portray complex situations from the perspective of the participant remind us all that truth and the human condition are relative. You are left with unanswered questions, doubts and just shaking your head. Well polished, well executed and well edited, there are few documentaries that can suck you into them and actually wonder what is next.

'The Imposter (2012)' is one of those movies that you really need to see to believe. As such, I'll try my very best to avoid spoiling even its most basic story beats. Still, I'd advise not reading further if you intend on watching the piece, which I highly recommend you do, because it feels as though the less you know, the more potent the experience will be. That said, the documentary tells an almost unbelievable tale that kicks off with a missing child and only gets stranger and sadder from there. It's very forthcoming with its first major twist, opting to reveal the nature of its eponymous imposter surprisingly early. Rather than use it for a shock later down the line, it uses it to drown the entire affair in dramatic irony. This choice transforms the piece from focusing on what its central con is, to how that con was even successful in the first place. It allows the flick to ruminate on some interesting themes of deception, perception and ignorance. It's never as straightforward as you think and it still provides plenty of powerful twists and turns, despite the fact that what could have been its most major one is - as I mentioned - laid bare almost as soon as the thing starts. The film plays out a bit like the con it retells, allowing some of its subjects to manipulate the audience just as they manipulated people in real life. For the most part, it remains neutral and allows its viewers to make up their own minds. Because of the ever-shifting nature of the story, that isn't as simple as it would first seem. You're likely to be turning the plot over in your mind long after the inevitability unsatisfying conclusion has been and gone. The piece does end on a pretty damning statement from its eponymous trickster, which almost solidifies its (or, rather, its makers') true feelings towards its subject matter and yet doesn't feel like a betrayal of the flick's otherwise distant approach. The film really is captivating. It's actually, if you'll pardon the cliché, stranger than fiction; if it were a traditional film, you'd accuse its plot of being too unbelievable. It's an entertaining and well-executed documentary that makes excellent use of surprisingly formalistic recreations and effectively candid 'talking head' segments. At the end of the day, it portrays a really sad situation and it doesn't even pretend to provide an answer to the most burning question it raises. It's an accomplished piece of work. 7/10.

Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadger

Word of Warning: I would recommend going into this film completely blind. Watching this film with no information about it is the best way to see it.

The story is extremely gripping. This documentary/mystery film is full of twists, real life sadness, and a powerful story. It leaves you with many unanswered questions, but does so in a way that leaves you tingling in contemplation. The plot can be disturbing to some and at times it can be quite scary.

The acting and storytelling is fluent. Most of the acting is done by people who had first hand accounts of the real life story. Some of the acting is reenacted which brings some depth and suspense to the story. The twist is very unexpected and it is deal with care.

The tone throughout the film is very dark. There are moments that send chills down your spine.

The pacing is okay but there are parts in the film that seemed out of place. In the beginning, I found myself getting lost in all the things that were going on.

Pros: Great story, amazing twist, unanswered questions, powerful storytelling, consistent tone, and strong first hand accounts in regard to the story

Cons: Okay pacing and some moments that were a bit confusing

Overall Rating: 8.2

P.S. If you enjoyed this film, you might also enjoy Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008). It is a documentary film that has the same mix of drama and crime.

Good, respectfully made documentaries are very difficult to rate, and even more difficult to review! This is what I experience once again after watching Bart Leyton's uniquely jaw-dropping "The Imposter". It would have been so much easier if this were a fictional story… Then we would all be able to write that it's a bunch of implausible and far-fetched nonsense that sprung from the mind of an overly imaginative scriptwriter! But this is a true story and – believe me – incredibly hard to fathom! Leyton reconstructs, chronologically and patiently, the story of an unscrupulous French/Algerian fraud who incomprehensibly manages to impersonate a vanished 16-year-old Texan; misleading the boy's devastated family members as well as the authorities and the media. When apprehended in Spain, Frédéric Bourdin sees the opportunity to assume the identity of Nicholas Barclay, who disappeared without a trace in his hometown of San Antonio 3 years and 4 months ago. There's no way back when Nicholas' sister comes to bring him back to Texas, but even though he looks, sounds and acts completely different than Nicholas ever did, the family embraces Bourdin without questioning his grotesque made up testimonies. Only gradually, some people become skeptical and begin to dig a deeper in Bourdin's persona, like a social worker and a private detective. The most praiseworthy aspect about "The Imposter", and I believe this is entirely Bart Leyton's very own accomplishment, is that this documentary isn't manipulative or judgmental at all. The film doesn't condemn the family members for their blindness, naivety or how easily they were brainwashed. Quite important, because this made me – personally - feel less like a voyeur in observing all the pain these people had to endure. Bourdin himself is also even granted to elaborate on his miserable childhood and his urge to compensate through becoming a phony. Leyton's narrative style is captivating and honest, and you hardly even notice the whole thing gradually turning from documentary into a tense thriller/film-noir. "The Imposter" is something you just have to discover yourself, I can only repeat that it's an incredible story that you don't even fully when you are gazing at it.