F for Fake
1973 · Movie · PG · 89 min · ★ 7.4 · 88% critics
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.
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
- Critic score
- 88/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.4/10 (363 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
- OK
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
Joseph Cotten
as Self
Directed by Orson Welles, François Reichenbach