Three Identical Strangers

On July 12, 1961 in Glen Oaks, New York: Robert Shafran, Eddie Galland, and Robert Kellman were born as identical triplets to a single mother and later adopted in different families. This documentary chronicles their story which includes their eventual reunion and beyond.

This is one of those documentaries which reinforces the belief that truth is stranger than fiction. It can also join superior documentaries like "Bus 174" (2002 - Brazil) and "Tower" (2016 - USA) as non-fiction films that end up as mysterious thrillers for audiences who are unaware of the events exposed in each film. An odd twist about "Strangers" though, is that some information remains incomplete by the end - this is no fault by any means of the filmmakers who do a superb job. Without giving anything away, there is a perverse reason that so much information is denied to the viewer and to the many involved in this bizarre story.

Some movies finish with happy endings. This one starts with a happy beginning. There is much joy in the reunion and the enormous ripple effect this causes. Once the thrill starts to settle down, the young men naturally want to learn more about their birth and adoption circumstances. What they learn turns the film into a sinister mystery.

Once all the talking heads are introduced within the first twenty minutes or so, a keen observer will notice that another mystery is yet to unfold as the film chronologically reveals the lives of the triplets. Once the mystery is revealed, the emotional impact is stunning.

As if this film isn't rich enough, it even digs into issues of class. Each boy grew up in different circumstances from each other. This further fuels the debate of nature vs nurture. One thing though is not debatable: "Three Identical Strangers" is one of the most fascinating documentaries ever. Not since the Dionne quintuplets were born in 1934 has there been such a fascinating story of identical siblings from a multiple birth. - dbamateurcritic

This documentary follows a set of identical triplets during their journey to discover each other and their circumstances. In truth, monozygotic sibling studies are not rare in psychology but there is usually a more rigorous ethics committee involved. It was a fascinating personal story that got more and more strange.

Normally, I'm not super into documentaries unless the subject matter is something I have a heightened interest in. I watched Won't You Be My Neighbor? earlier this year and thought it was actually excellent. So was hoping for a similar type of reaction with Three Identical Strangers. The trailer did a job of garnering interest because it seemed like a rather incredible set of circumstances. Overall, this documentary absolutely delivers, and is surprisingly quite dark.

The film is about the real life events of three men finding each other and realizing that they are in fact identical triplets. What's more crazy, is the fact that each of them have the same mannerisms and many of the same tastes in everything. Of course, questions arose as to why the triplets were separated at birth and not adopted together. The dark secrets of the adoption center are revealed in this documentary and questions arise as to the ethical nature as to what happened to these triplets.

From beginning to closing credits, this is an enthralling story. I have never even heard about this case, despite the brothers being located in New York. Its super hard to talk about the film without the twist that comes halfway through the film. It actually is crazy and makes you consider how dark and twisted human nature can be when they feel their actions is considered important and necessary. Its super hard not to talk about it, all I can say is you need to see this film.

Its a film about an event that is extremely joyous in the beginning. But as the film goes on you realize that the lives of these separated triplets is marred by tragedy and controversy. Its a documentary that will get you to think and wonder and talk. Its an important film for its social context and its psychology. There are some good stuff out this summer and this is something I hope people see.

7.5/10

Stories about Twins (and other pairs of siblings) separated at birth aren't all that uncommon - but, triplets? Director Tim Wardle takes that rare occurrence and runs with it in the breathless and highly entertaining first section of his Documentary THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS. Wardle also cleverly edits his footage (including the interviews) in order to preserve as many surprises about the secrets and lies to come later in the movie. Some might argue that Wardle's technique is a bit of cheat, but, for those who enter without knowing the full story it enhances the viewing, even if it does cause some issues later on.

The story is told quite sequentially, and, again, that is in service of providing more drama as the Doc unfolds. Because the events go back to the 60s, many of the participants aren't around any longer to speak for themselves. Still, Wardle and his team managed to assemble a good cross-section of survivors to go on the record. Because the story was such a cause celebre in the early 80s (and in the NYC area to boot) we are also able to see a decent amount of historical footage of the triplets and their rise to fame including trips to the Today show, Donahue and a brief cameo in Susan Seidelman's DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (supposedly at the behest of star Madonna). Some fairly minor dramatic re-enactments are also employed, and aren't distracting (Wardle also maintains the proper aspect ratio in much of the vintage footage - to his credit).

As the true tale turns darker, a few issues with the filmmaking arrive. I won't delve into spoilers (I avoided them myself in order for the Doc to have maximum impact), but, the old Nurture vs. Nature debate becomes a key point of contention - as it does with all of these 'separated at birth' cases. Because of the way Wardle structures his editing, we mostly get the 'Nature' perspective until very late in the process. Further, a major cache of evidence is dropped in at the very last moment, and isn't sufficiently analyzed. It's understood that after five years in the making, Wardle, Raw, Neon and other production entities wanted to get their movie done and released, but one can't help but feel the editing was wrapped up in order to get a prized Sundance Film Festival spot. Wardle also includes a couple of curious montages repeating what we've seen earlier as if he had an eye on TV showings (CNN is set to show it). But, these problems pale compared to Wardle's casting a light on some highly unethical behavior that effected the triplets' lives.

These relatively minor issues aside, THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS again shows why there is a bit of Documentary boom going on. In a cinema dominated by Superhero and Animated flicks, there is a yearning among some adults for movies of substance and reality. STRANGERS is a true emotional roller-coaster.

Incredible well constructed and very well written, beautifully paced and staged. Honest heart moving testimonials underlined with stunning analysis and shocking revelations.

One of those documentaries that very carefully balances the emotional temperatures of the subjects discussed.

Very honest directing and as perfect an editing job as I can imagine.

These guys are at the top or their profession.

Thank you both the director and editor for coming to Hot Docs 2018