At first sight, one could be forgiven for thinking that this is a magnificent spoof in the style of 'Spinal Tap', with a cast of brilliant actors speaking the most outrageously ludicrous lines while keeping a straight face. Indeed, one somehow expects every dial in sight to be labelled up to 11.
The plot of the film also contains hints of 'Rain Man' in that the central character, Searl, is a sub-normal orphan who has a repetitive dream which shows him how to build a perpetual motion machine out of permanent magnets; quite contrary to the laws of physics. Not only that, but it unexpectedly turns out to be an anti-gravity machine as well (quite contrary to the laws of physics) and Searl loses no time in building his first flying saucer (out of wood, naturally). A fleet of 41 flying saucers is eventually built and tested by NASA and the US military. Somehow, this fails to impress anybody and most of the UFOs are sent into outer space 'for safety'; except perhaps for one which might possibly be stored in Archangel. Not all of these details are actually in the film. I have been doing some background research. And this is where the joke ends. All of this is supposed to be true, and it is not a spoof film, but a documentary. Suddenly, this puts a very different complexion on things. This is no longer a good-natured spoof, but a rather disquieting parade of people who are either mentally ill, or polished confidence tricksters. If the former, the film-makers have been exploitative. If the latter, they have aided the promotion of an investment scam. Because, of course, there is absolutely no proof that any of the claimed events ever took place. The SEG, the supposed perpetual motion machine, is seen only as a computer animation, and the 'evidence' for the flying saucers is as convincing as, well, that for any other UFO sighting. Even this would be borderline acceptable. However, Searl (who, incidentally has a long criminal record)continues to seek funding with which to 're-build' the devices that never existed in the first place. It may seem silly to equate Searl to Madoff but, in effect, they are cut from the same cloth, and one can quite easily imagine this film being used by a prosecuting lawyer as evidence in some future fraud trial.
