F for Fake (1973), directed by Orson Welles, is a film about many things, but as stated many times throughout the film, it is mostly a film about trickery and fraud. This was my ever first encounter with an Orson Welles film, so I really had no expectations or understandings about what I was going to watch as I went into the viewing. Although, I was impressed (but also very confused) with the concept. Being part-fiction and part-non-fiction, F for Fake intends to clarify yet confuse – nothing is really true.
Magic was a common theme throughout the film that related to the concepts of trickery and fraud. From the very the beginning, Orson Welles stars not only as the narrator, but also a magician that’s main intent is to deceive – in which he succeeds doing so. The way in which he chooses his words and distracts you with his tricks, Welles has you believing that he will tell the truth for the entirety of the film, when in fact there is a time restriction on the truth-telling in this story. To emphasise a truthful nature of the film, those in the film star as themselves, which could be perceived as a documentary. Also, it is clear that they are not hiding the fact that it is a non-fictitious film, as the cameras can occasionally and purposely be seen in the background. So the question is, is F for Fake a documentary or not?The initial, and truthful, part of F for Fake follows Elmyr de Hory’s life and career as an art forger, and the concept of art forgery as a whole. This part was interesting, but admittedly, it did make me want to ‘nod off’ for a bit. Therefore, for myself in particular, this section very much blurred the line to as where that the truth in the film ends and the fraud begins, as the story of Oja Kodar and Pablo Picasso begins.
The film as a whole resembles fraud and trickery, whether that be the subject at hand or the audience believing what they’re listening to is the truth when it is not. In this moment when Welles admits to the audience that he has been lying to everyone for the past 10 minutes, it brings on a sense of self awareness. The audience now understands that it was so easy for one to listen to a story in such a way and gullibly believe the contents of it. Despite the film focusing on the masters of trickery and fraud (i.e. Elmyr de Hory), Welles (and the other creators of the film) prove themselves to be the true masters of trickery.
My overall conclusion to as whether or not this film is a documentary is that it is. Despite the fact that Orson Welles deliberately lies about facts he’s putting forth, he also pre-warns you that he will be lying at some point. This film is about deception and not being able to tell when you’re being deceived – everything in this film is truthful, to a degree.
