F for Fake
1973 · Movie · PG · 89 min
★ 7.4(367)unSUB Rating
This playful, free-form documentary explores the world of fraud through art forgery and literary hoaxes, following notorious con artists and the “experts” they fool. Blending fact with staged moments and a mischievous on-screen guide, it keeps asking what’s authentic, what’s counterfeit, and why we’re so eager to believe.
Also known as Truths and Lies
Where to watch
Streaming on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel.
1 hour to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- Vérités et Mensonges
- Years
- 1973
- Release date
- 1973-09-01
- Language
- French
- Rated
- PG
- Runtime
- 89 min
- TMDB rating (input)
- 7.4/10 (367 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you like inventive, essay-like documentaries that challenge what’s real and keep you guessing, similar in spirit to Sans Soleil; Not for you if you want a straightforward, neatly explained true-story film.
Pros: witty, playful narration; fascinating fraud stories; thought-provoking questions | Cons: disjointed, confusing structure; feels self-indulgent; can be tedious
Themes
- artist
- manipulation
- illusion
- deception
- ibiza
- essay film
- forgery
- forger
- trickery
Cast & crew
Orson Welles
as Self
Oja Kodar
as The Girl
- EH
Elmyr de Hory
as Self
Clifford Irving
as Self
Laurence Harvey
as Self
- EI
Edith Irving
as Self
- DW
David Walsh
as Self
Paul Stewart
as Self
- RW
Richard Wilson
as Self
- RW
Richard Wilson
as Self
Directed by Orson Welles, François Reichenbach