Review of The Imposter (2012) by C B — 16 Sep 2012

I went with some friends to this movie, and didn't know what to expect and so I wasn't actually sure that this was a real documentary or a fake documentary. Wow. Frederick Bourdin is the king of sociopaths and the family of Nicholas Barclay that he duped into thinking he was their missing boy--I don't know what to say about them.

Bourdin, who is Algerian, looked and sounded NOTHING like Barclay who was Scotch Irish or something. Could you want someone who left with no trace back so badly that you are willing to believe that some random person is him? I don't know.

I have never been in that situation. Was the family covering up some heinous crime they committed or colluded with? That seems likely, but if so they apparently covered up their tracks pretty thoroughly.

Anyway, I kept flashing to that French movie, The Ruturn of Martin Guerre where the same basic thing happened, except in the middle ages, when that movie took place, there were no photos or videos of the missing person.

There were plenty around the Barclay house. Anyway, I'll be thinking of the intricacies of the human heart for quite a while because of this.