Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerWord of Warning: I would recommend going into this film completely blind. Watching this film with no information about it is the best way to see it.The story is extremely gripping. This documentary/mystery film is full of twists, real life sadness, and a powerful story. It leaves you with many unanswered questions, but does so in a way that leaves you tingling in contemplation. The plot can be disturbing to some and at times it can be quite scary.The acting and storytelling is fluent. Most of the acting is done by people who had first hand accounts of the real life story. Some of the acting is reenacted which brings some depth and suspense to the story. The twist is very unexpected and it is deal with care.The tone throughout the film is very dark. There are moments that send chills down your spine. The pacing is okay but there are parts in the film that seemed out of place. In the beginning, I found myself getting lost in all the things that were going on.Pros: Great story, amazing twist, unanswered questions, powerful storytelling, consistent tone, and strong first hand accounts in regard to the storyCons: Okay pacing and some moments that were a bit confusingOverall Rating: 8.2P.S. If you enjoyed this film, you might also enjoy Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008). It is a documentary film that has the same mix of drama and crime.

The story behind "The Imposter" is almost impossible to believe - yet it is true. It's the perfect material for the making of a documentary film, yet the filmmakers seem to prioritize stylistic devices and dramatic suspense over the story itself. Documentary cinema is a unique form wherein journalism meets visual storytelling, and yet "The Imposter" seems to act in conflict with every aspect that is unique to the form, despite being in possession of the perfect source material. Interviews with the subjects are spliced together with dramatic re-enactments that verge on mimicking an actual drama film - one would think that, in doing so, a successful merging of drama and real life would be accomplished. Instead, the film teeters between an ostentatious documentary and a drama composed of nothing but exposition-oriented dialogue. In an attempt to imbue the documentary with further dramatic aspects, a musical score is ever-present - yet this only serves to hinder the film. The score is unremarkable in every aspect, and serves to hold the viewer by the hand - instructing them on what emotions to feel, rather than add any sort of sensual dimension to the experience. This, combined with the film's devotion to overt stylistic devices that seek to weld the non-fiction portions with the dramatic, results in an overall gimmicky film that ultimately interferes with the very story that has served as its bedrock. Throughout the film, the aspects unique to documentary cinema are often identifiable by the regard in which they are blatantly disregarded - it's not that they are ignored, but specifically refuted. During the film's final act, the story takes a completely unexpected turn, and the film is doused in suspense. Suddenly, everything we've been led to believe about the situation being reported appears uncertain, and the viewer is hooked. This is a strong moment in the film, and while it does serve to lift the quality at this point, it also highlights where the film has gone so wrong - the strongest moment in the film is as a direct result of events within the chosen story line, and not as a result of forged drama or artistic flourish. While documentary films and artistic style are not mutually exclusive - in fact, certain films demonstrate that they can work remarkably well together - the style should serve to heighten the material being worked with. In "The Imposter('s)" case, the added showmanship and dramatic techniques only serve to impose, as though a documentary and a drama film collided with one another and were forced upwards, lifting from the chaos and rubble a rough and jagged product, as tectonic plates impacting to form a mountain.

Spoiler Alert! Stupid documentary! Waste of time! No happy ending. A 23 year old Frenchman lied about being a 16 year old missing American. This show is a complete waste of time. There wasn't any Twist. We figured that the Frenchman was lying from the beginning, and it was revealed that we were right at the end.

This documentary is so full packed with mystery, intrigue, action,...that I can hardly say that is a documentary at all but a full-blown thriller which happens to be told as a documentary and happens to have really happened.Technically I'd mark is as almost flawless. The intricacies of the combination of the sound effects with the picture are amazing. The way actors and storytellers are mixed is incredible. I can only attest to the love and patience put to this film. Truly incredible.And of course the story is worth telling. An "apparently" French guy who claims to be a missing Texan with a family looking for him for many years. You will know the truth from the get-go. You will know what's going on, but then again you will not have a clue about what's going on because what's going on is far more deep and sinister than what you could imagine. The plot is twisted to a point that you, knowing what's going on, will soon realize that whether the kid is the missing son or not its not so important compared to what is really going on.Storytelling-wise, the director does a great job in letting you in little by little, starting by making you comfortable in thinking that you know what is going on, and then gently but steadily throwing you out of balance.If I have to make a negative remark I would just remove 10% of the music, but that's just a matter of personal taste.Keyphrase: "Good luck".