Faking it with Orson Welles

There are experiences that make you look at things in whole different way; that give you a fresh perspective on a certain subject. ‘F For Fake’, Orson Welles last completed film, is such an experience.

This loose documentary, while widely respected now, wasn’t so well received by audiences or critics when it was released in 1974. Many considered it to be confusing and incoherent. Most of the critique was aimed at the film’s free form, fast editing and pace. All those features are now praised, especially the editing, as being unique and far ahead of its time.

The film, starring Orson Welles himself, focuses on rather vague concepts like authorship, authenticity and art. He explores these ideas by centering his story on the Hungarian art forger Elmyr de Hory and hoax-biographer Clifford Irving. Through their stories he investigates  the importance and meaning of authorship.

These subjects might seem dryer than a camel’s back but the way Welles shines his light on the material is fascinating. Using fast cuts and different shots he manages to create a hypnotizing film. Welles own personality is an important part of the picture. It’s as if the big man is speaking directly to you; drawing you into his mind.

Like Welles himself the film is not without its fair share of humour. In one of the earliest scenes of ‘F For Fake’ Welles assures us that everything he tells us in the first hour of the film will be true. Seventy-seven minutes he’s delighted to announce he’s been ‘’lying his head off’’ for the last seventeen minutes. Again this legendary filmmaker reveals himself as a playful joker.

Hoaxes and tricks have always been a part of Welles his persona. He even contemplates on this during the film by addressing the beginning of his own career.

In 1938, when he was only 23 years old, Welles directed and starred in a radio adaptation of ‘The War of the Worlds’. He told his story as if it was a news broadcast and caused a nationwide panick. Hundreds of American radio listeners believed an invasion by aliens from Mars was at hand.

The notoriety he gained from this broadcast made Orson Welles into a household name. It also got him the film deal of a lifetime, which he used to make ‘Citizen Kane’ in 1941; probably the most celebrated film of all time.

For a moment Welles questions the authenticity of his own career. For how, he muses, can it be authentic when it has all been based on a hoax? Instead of finding the answer himself he seems to leave it to the audience. How important is authenticity?