A temptation from a human desire for happiness! "Hello", a girl answers the phone. Boy says, " Megan?". Megan replies," Hi, how are you?" Astounded boy says, "Your voice is not at all what I expected." Follows a introductory conversation for the first time between new York city photographer Yaniv 'Nev' Schulman and a country girl from Ishpeming, Michigan Megan Faccio. They previously knew each other from facebook when Megan was tagged in her 8-yr old sister's pictures. Abby previously requested Nev to send a picture of himself so she could paint it. When Nev recieved the paining in the mail he is instantly feels a friendly connection. Follows a facebook family of Abby, Megan, their mom Angela, her two sons and so on. No need to mention Nev falls in love with Megan and they share text messages over a period of 8 months. Nev almost decides to quit his life in the city to live with Megan as a cowboy. What follows is a series of events over the course of this 'so called documentary'. Anything else and I will be spoiling the 'film'.
Ever since Cannibal Holocaust (1980) premiered documentary style film-making with above average, by Hollywood standrd if I may, storylines and plots were presented to scare the crap out of audiences with a 'how real it is' phenomenon. The Blair Witch Project reached audiences in the farthest corners of the world with film making perspective of handycam that started a series of such films up until Paranormal Activity (2007). The filmakers have always been questioned about the authenticity, if they claimed it is real, of their work. Whatever the respone they had one thing is for sure that these films in a way created a cult following, if not made buckets of money like Blair Witch or Paranormal. Catfish is such a movie/documentary that fits into this genre.
What makes Catfish different than these films is it makes human characters in it extremely believable. It uses those characters and drives the story. A story of some predictable, some unpredictable, some bizzare, some painful, some dissappointing (for all characters), some awkward and one very unique and beautiful outcome. This outcome gives you the meaning of the title and how everyting in this 94 min show bonds together. It may be half filled to some and half empty to others. But the meaning of the Catfish is essential for the film's credibility in its entirety. If you think about it then it could be argued that a celluloid creation that makes a point in the end is usually a 'film'. Not a documentary. Recall Bowling for Columbine, Up series or An Inconvenient Truth. The viewers are shocked and shattered through each frame of the film. They do have a finale but the point is made way before the ending. The whole prospect of following a journey in those documentaries was the pleasure source. Catfish could be true as its makers claim. Catfish does drag you in and deliver. But the avalanche like finale of last 10 minutes almost makes it stand in the category of a film. Like Hitchcock's Psycho. Tony Perkis' character confronts to give meaning to almost every single frame of the film and so does Catfish. Be warned that this does not make Catfish Hitchcockian or with one of the best mysteries. But it is definitely as if the filmmakers previsioned the whole attempt to create their celluloid creation.
It cannot be predicted how true or made up Catfish is. Maybe it is genuine or maybe the creators will take a secret to their graves. It does not matter. It is a thriller that has its source from the very thing that makes us human. The unique perspective on human character and a temptation to human desire for happiness that it protrays makes viewing experience absolutely unique.
(Also posted on PassionForCinema)
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