This is a completely different subject than found footage films. Documentaries usually shed light on a certain subject in order to teach people about said subject. There are some movies out there that do decide to use this kind of film making, but for fictional purposes. Sometimes its for comedic effect, sometimes its for social commentary. People usually enjoy these films as well, while others are outraged by them. Going back to found footage for a second, the consent behind those movies is that something strange or supernatural happened to those who had the camera, and the tapes/camera was found completely abandoned. Fake documentaries however play it completely serious, like it's taking place in the world we live in today. Regular movies are usually works of fiction. Even if it's based off a true story, some facts will be embellished. Documentaries, while some may follow a narrative, show what really happened and lay out the cold, hard facts. It could be that something that people rely on documentaries to tell the truth, so when they turn out to be complete fiction, they feel betrayed. Would that at all change if they went in knowing that it was all fake? What do you guys think about fake documentaries? This came to mind when I was watching A Necessary Death. The premise of the film is that the filmmaker is following a young man with brain cancer in his final days because he is planning on killing himself. You see him in his daily life, watching him say goodbye to his mother, and things happen behind the scenes. It was a really hard movie for me to watch, especially with events that happened in the third act. The ending just left me breathless. I had gone into this movie cold. I didn't know that it was fake, and it doesn't say anything until the very end of the credits with the whole "this story is a work of fiction" disclaimer. I let out the biggest sigh at that point. Knowing that it's fake, it didn't take away any of the emotion that I put into the film. I didn't necessarily felt lied to. I still find it an emotional experience, the characters compelling, and an ending that's very strong. I actually feel that some of that emotion may have been lost if I had known that the film was fictional from the start. I looked up some interviews from the director (who also directed The Last Exorcism, which I find one of the best found footage films), and he even found it odd how people reacted. He said that when they buy the DVD, there's a little slip inside that says everything is a work of fiction, but when people show it to their friends, they leave out that important detail.
I think the director is rather disingenuous on that one. The little slip inside can easily be lost or thrown away, and most people don' t sit through the entire credits. If there was no clear disclaimer right at the beginning of the movie it was bound to happen and he knows it. I' m not sure it would take away from the movie. Most people know real TV is as fake as it comes yet they still watch it. But then you' d think people would know by now that you can edit, direct and act the **** out of reality. Sadly, some people still don' t.
I don't hate films like this but I get dissapointed. Sometimes if I watch a well documentary I do some research on it (who doesn't wanna know more facts right?) And I've been discouraged a few times which hurt. I'm one of those emotional saps, not the cry baby one but the one that gets so moved by a film I'm just ready change the world. Or times I just want to be a emotional wreck. But it depends on the film, I know Netflix has a great section on documentaries and I've watched a few myself and I was happy to find out the facts were real. Now just the other night, I watched The Blair Which project (1994? Version) which in the opening says this was a true story, this was their film that came to light in 1999. At first I was like "naaahhhh", I was skeptical. But when the movie seemed right, the cameras the quality the people and style I was convinced until the end. The end just baffled me because it seems tampated with; fake. Needless to say I haven't looked up anything about the film yet because I was mad at myself xD I love films that are documentary base, even if its ficticious. But when they say its real or based off true events and it comes out like ****? Yeah, I have a huge dissapointment.
I would say that I am a fan of "mockumentaries," as long as they are along the lines of a comedy. Satire and social commentary done in this style I think helps enlighten mundane things, as well as some touchy subjects. I think I would personally even consider the interviews done on The Daily Show to be included in this category. One of my favorites has to be Waiting for Guffman (which I also highly recommend if you are interested in theater or show biz.) I think though as time goes on, some of them become outdated. Like the aforementioned Blair Witch Project, which I guess sort of started off the chain of shaky-cam horror flicks. For its time it was good to give a different perspective on the horror genre, but after watching it again, it's just sort of lost the scare factor. But as an actor, it does provide for a lot of improvisation, which I guess is a lost art nowadays in the film industry. It is definitely a unique medium of sending a message across of which I hope to be a part of someday.
