Response Essay 'F Is For Fake'

Response #3 I have chosen to write my response about the essay film F is For Fake. I found this film to be a great work out for my brain, and a film that drove me crazy as a viewer—in a good way. I was very excited to analyze this film in class. I think the director’s goal for this film was to tackle the complex problem of authority. Authority, in forms such as governments, “experts,” and big business men, have always been a problem in human society, especially if they are to be trusted. For the first part of this film, that is what I thought the author was trying to show us by giving the audience examples of how much the value of Elmyr de Hory’s paintings changed based on the opinions of so called art experts. However, by the end of the film, the tone changed. By the narrator telling the fake story of Picasso, that seemed very realistic at the time, the film seems to get at the point that even though authority doesn’t deserve to be trusted, it has to be. By pointing out that the movie would be a failure if you didn’t trust the narrator, the narrator hints that authority has to be trusted for society to function.

It did so in a unique way that was different from any other film we have watched in class, but it was still very effective. By giving the audience so many theories, believes and stories in the beginning of the movie, the audience had no choice but to trust the narrator to tell them what is true or not. For me, I initially had no trust in the narrator and his stories, but by the end of the film he had convinced me to trust him and anything he said, something I never thought possible in the beginning of the film. I also thought the film visuals were very appropriate and helped to add a feeling and tone of mystery and intrigue, perfect for this film. I thought the visuals perfectly matched the narration and story