Long after Orson Welles lost the clout to produce Hollywood feature films, he managed to cobble together this idiosyncratic essay film from documentary footage shot by French filmmaker Francois Reichenbach. Initially, the subjects are master art forger Elmyr de Hory and his would-be biographer Clifford Irving, also author of the infamous Howard Hughes biography. Welles eventually transforms the film into an analysis of the question of authorship: who is truly the "author" of a work of art?
Welles packs "F for Fake" with guest stars, anecdotes, and witticisms... even a magic trick! It's not perfect: the film changes gears perhaps one too many times, and Welles can't resist including gratuitous shots of his mistress, Oja Kodar. But Welles aficionados will delight in the director's foray into deconstructionist cinema. "F for Fake" lies somewhere between the realms of fact and fiction. Welles the magician conjures up an altogether new form of movie, one that can't be easily classified.
Welles packs "F for Fake" with guest stars, anecdotes, and witticisms... even a magic trick! It's not perfect: the film changes gears perhaps one too many times, and Welles can't resist including gratuitous shots of his mistress, Oja Kodar. But Welles aficionados will delight in the director's foray into deconstructionist cinema. "F for Fake" lies somewhere between the realms of fact and fiction. Welles the magician conjures up an altogether new form of movie, one that can't be easily classified.