Most reviews cite this as being an accidental success. If that is true isn't there an implication that spending years learning a craft and perfecting it is unnecessary? What I saw when I watched this movie was a sibling who was being indulged by his family and his brother's band members, and this afforded him the chance to film the band's world tour. What he did, however, in classic narcissist style,was film himself most of the time. Organisation and planning were concepts he had no idea about. When he interviewed the band members he not only had no questions prepared, he could't actually think of any. He was employed to be a roadie but avoided this responsibility to the point where he lied about completing tasks and was eventually fired by his brother. There was no indication that this thirty something had any kind of job history. In fact, truth be told, the film - his own film mind you - presents him as intellectually challenged. When asked to give an idea of what he'd filmed so far he showed a previous film he'd made - a rank amateur schlock horror movie that a ten year old might make. To their credit, his brother and the members of The National were incredibly tolerant of him. He didn't understand that 'celebrities' at a private gathering might not wish to be filmed because they were filmed all the time in public. At another time he stated that he felt alienated from the band and didn't know why. Well, if you worked for twenty years in any career, banking, computing, taxidermy, whatever,and built up your knowledge and experience, ascended the ladder of success, made yourself known, and then brought your brother into work, wouldn't he be bound to feel alienated; he has no idea what is going on?In summation, it is an indulgent movie made by a sibling who has not taken time to learn how to film or make a film. To laugh at it is to laugh at handicap.

Pretty awesome documentary overall. I really didn't expect it to be any good and was pleasantly surprised. As well, I had never heard of this band before, not necessarily my type of music but I liked what I heard. Tom is a guy we all know, maybe a guy we are all at times. A likable fellow that can to no awareness of his own, ruffle feathers and mess things up even though his heart is in the right place. The dynamic of this film captured how we can all feel insignificant despite our efforts. Tom you are talented and you showed it with this documentary for sure.Def worth a watch.

Full disclosure: I am a longtime National fan, and I personally think that Matt Berninger is a genius. I watched this movie expecting a traditional band documentary, but even though I would have liked to see more live songs and other musical stuff, I found "Mistaken for Strangers" to be very entertaining and well crafted. Tom is Matt's younger brother, and the movie is mostly centered around his own experience joining the band on tour. He is immature, emotionally unstable, jealous of his brother's success, and kind of annoying, but somehow likable. One of the things that I liked most about the movie is the portrait of the different members of the Berninger family. They all seem like very nice people, and the love and respect that they have for each other (especially Matt and Tom) is evident throughout the film. Seems like both brothers have found a way to channel their own frustration through their art, and the results are very enjoyable in both cases. The movie shows that Tom really has filming talent, and I hope to see more of him in the future (but not exactly the B-class horror / barbarian flicks that he seems to enjoy making). My only complain is that I would have liked to see more of the Dessner and Devendorf brothers, and of course, more National music!

Saw this at the premiere/National concert at the Shrine in LA on Tuesday 3/25/2014. This is the story of Matt Berninger, lead singer of the National's younger brother (by 9 years) Tom attempting (and succeeding) to make a documentary of the band on tour. It mostly plays out as a story of brotherly love & jealousy, but always with a good-natured and humorous bent. Tom is a goofy kid-stuck-in-a-man's-body who has a history of quitting things before he's finished them, and Matt seems determined to see him finish this project, even if it means risking the public perception of his band. The audience was in uproarious laughter throughout the whole thing, and everyone seemed surprised at what a genuine portrait it was of not only the band, but of how a regular family's dynamics change when one member is throw into the spotlight. Highly recommended.