147. US maestro Orson Welles’ last film ”F for Fake” (1973): The most thought-provoking film on illusion and reality from an exceptionally gifted filmmaker and intellectual
“ Art is a lie that enables us to realize the truth ”—Pablo Picasso “ I must believe that art itself is real ” Orson Welles in F for Fake W hat is cinema? How real is realism in cinema? These are questions that every reflective filmgoer need to ask when we see a realistic film or documentary claiming to record reality, while there is always the director, the film editor, the camera-person, the actors, manipulating the mind of the viewer without the viewer realizing this is happening. Each documentary is telling a story, not merely reproducing facts as we think it is doing. F for Fake explores the extension of this argument in myriad ways, sometimes honestly, sometimes, er.. not so honestly. Orson Welles, the director and narrator of the film, makes an honest confession early in the film “ I am a charlatan. ” And you love him for this very candor at the end of the film. You love him even more when he utters another loaded truism “ Almost every movie is about some kind of a lie.” ...