Twinsters

I realize that "Twinsters" has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so people apparently love this film. Oddly, however, I didn't. It's an okay film, but one I felt bored with after a while.

The story is about two girls, Samantha and Anaïs. One lives in the USA and the other in France and London. One day, one of them sees the other on social media and they were shocked...as they looked identical. Now considering they both turned out to be born on the same day and in the same city in South Korea, they both realized that they might have a twin they never knew existed. Soon the pair arrange to take a DNA test as well as see each other in London...where Anaïs is going to college.

The style of this film in so many ways seems less like a conventional documentary and more like a bunch of home videos strung together--maybe because it was so personal and seemed made more for the ladies than an audience. This, combined with how much the two ladies giggled throughout the film, made the film very interesting at first but after a while I felt a bit bored. I know this might sound like I am a grouch. But I just felt like it might have worked better for me as a tighter and shorter film...perhaps television show length instead of a full-length movie.

By the way, this film really could have used captions. Part of it is because of me....I don't hear all that well any more. But much of it is because of the accents. I can understand French pretty well if there are captions...but understanding all of what Anaïs and her family was saying (even when in English) was a tad difficult.

So even "famous" people can have secrets or rather a past they themselves haven't figured out yet ... in case this is news for you. And I don't mean to be disparaging with my famous comment. I just think that some people may not know one of the two women in question, even if she has been in Hollywood movies.

But this is not about stardom or celebrity status, this is about family. A missing piece in someones life. Even if they didn't know. And the adventures those two individuals take upon them. Always in company of others, but still in sync with each other. Funny, engaging and sentimental to a point ... and life affirming!

This is the story of separated-at-birth twin sisters discovering and meeting each other. Stretched out over an entire feature length documentary. That's it. It could be done in fifteen minutes, but instead we are forced to sit through interminable footage of messages of them saying "pop" to each other, and lots and lots of giggling (although, full disclosure, I switched it off fifteen minutes before the end because I couldn't summon up the interest to continue; so it's possible there was some rewarding content in the final quarter of an hour. No regrets). It doesn't even have anything new or interesting to say about the nature of twinship in general, let alone in examining this particular set of twins. Do yourself a favour and watch the far more in depth, character-filled, and documentary-worthy Three Identical Strangers instead

This film just aired on the Fusion Channel. I loved it. First question: When this adventure first began, did it suddenly occur to Samantha this story potentially could be a great documentary, AND, if so, how did she quickly connect up with a film production company and producers to quickly capture everything. She did mention that she had graduated from college and later was wearing a Boston University t-shirt. BU is a great film school--did she make a connection there?

Second question: Did either girl speak Korean? When the first foster mother came into the room, I could of sworn that Samantha was translating to her sister. I could be wrong because the only technical criticism I have is the sound capturing was very poor. It was as if they only had a single mike overhead on a boom which picked up a lot of sound bouncing off walls and ceiling along with trying to capture different voice levels at the same time. It didn't work AND there is no CC to turn on to help.

This documentary was possibly the most emotionally involving film I've seen in years. As the protagonist becomes immersed in the totally surreal experience of discovering and meeting her doppelgänger on another continent, the viewer can completely empathize with every twinge of emotion, euphoria, stupefaction, and deep, deep feeling. It also provides some good insights into the Korean international adoption phenomenon and the large number of adoptees hoping to meet their birth mothers. By turns hilarious and heartrending, it really gives you the whole roller-coaster experience. Bring a hanky and be prepared to fall in love.

The skill and immediacy of the story-telling are phenomenal--well-conceived and beautifully executed. The music and animation are effectively and judiciously used, and the editing was genius.

Of course it is an amazing story, so that helps. It left me wanting to stay involved in the story, caring so much about these endearing, creative, hilarious, true-hearted people. Brava! (pop)