<Forbidden Lies>
From the documentary movie Forbidden Lies, many questions about the ethics of documentaries can be answered. First some synopsis about the movie should be discussed. Forbidden Lies is basically a real life thriller film, if one watches it for the first time as it depicts very exciting moment between the filmmaker and the social actor or in other words participant. The documentary is based on the accusation posed on the author Norma Khouri about faking the story of a famous story. It was claimed that Khouri’s best-selling book was fraudulent. The story of the book is about an honor killing of a girl called Dalia who was supposedly the best friend of Khauri in Jordan. Dalia was a Muslim woman and fell in love with a Christian man. For that reason her father and brothers killed her thinking she had brought upon shame on their family. The book was sold about 500,000 copies in 15 different countries. However, Sydney journalist named Malcolm Knox claimed that the book was a fake.
Forbidden Lies involves Norma Khouri and her writing, life story, accusation against her, her lies and lots of other aspects. The director uses observational footage in the movie. Observational mode of documentary allows the filmmaker to observe the participant closely in a more natural setup. This type of documentary creates an environment where the participant feels more relaxed as the participant may not get the feeling that there is a camera present. In many cases, handheld cameras are used in this method. For this particular movie, this mode of documentary was used because the director wanted to make the participant feel at home in an attempt of getting the truth from the participant. The film shows CGI effect, stylized shots, book reading and interviews. As a result, it produces a complex attire and exciting film for the viewers.