F for Fake

Directed by Orson Welles

France, Iran, West Germany • 1976 • 89 mins.

Showtimes & Past Screenings

F for Fake, a pseudo-documentary revolving around the shadowy world of art forgery, sees Welles at his most globe-trotting and literally magical. Beginning as a kind of portrait of notorious forger Elmyr De Hory, the film quickly spirals away from any linear narrative, instead becoming a loose tapestry of forgers and fakers, not least of whom is Welles himself. “Hoax-biographer” Clifford Irving and Welles’ muse Oja Kodar appear at various points; the pace steadily increases, and the narratives interweave to the point of dizzying disorientation. “There is fascination and poignancy in seeing Welles’ elegant retreat into this hall of mirrors.”—Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.