The Imposter [HD]

Mystery thriller of the year: a MUST SEE
I had seen the trailer of this movie a couple of times when catching other movies recently, and I have to say I was immensely intruiged by the premise of the movie. The movie finally opened this weekend here in Cincinnati and I went to see it right away.

"The Imposter" (2012 release; 99 min.) brings the tale of Nicholas Barclay, a 13 yr. old kid in San Antonio who disappears one day without a trace in 1994, only to be miraculously found 3 1/2 years later in... Spain! As it turns out, the boy in Spain is not really Nicholas, but some French guy pretending to be Nicholas. He manages to talk his way through everything, fooling US and Spanish diplomatic and legal personnel alike, and "long-lost Nicholas" is returned to Texas, where he is eagerly awaited by his overjoyed "family". Life is good for a while, but when others get involved upon his return (a trauma specialist, the FBI, etc.) he is eventually found out to be an imposter. At this point, we are only half-way into the...

Simply Amazing
Truth is truly stranger than fiction. This is possibly the only documentary I've ever seen that features a jaw-dropping "twist" toward the end, just like a real thriller. A sobering look at grief, family, lies, denial, government incompetence, and the universal human need to belong. Watch this.

First impressions are nothing
Was Nicholas Barclay who turned up in Spain, forty months later after disappearing in San Antonio in 1994 an impostor- which also happens to be a title of this disturbing tale. The documentary focuses more on the why and how and leaves you with more questions and confusion. Why would someone who is 23 want to assume the identity of a teenage boy seven years his junior? How does he know that Nicholas disappeared and what does he know about his disappearing. The most jaw dropping situation was his ability to fool the boys family and their total acceptance of this stranger as Nicholas, why would they do that? or was there any other reason for their acceptance? These questions dominate the documentary.......It is clear from the beginning that Frederic Bourdin is the lying con artist but he was convincing to fool the US state department and the entire Barclay family. They fly to Texas and hope to have a normal life but his hopes of normalcy are dashed because his con is exposed...

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