:
David James,
Laurie Pike,
Steve Wilcox,
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Brian Flemming
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: Comedies, Documentary, Independent, Mockumentary, Mockumentaries
: 82 min.
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A poker faced mockumentary investigating the mysterious assassination of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, director Brian Flemming's film follows a group of skeptics known as Citizens for Truth as they launch an independent investigation into the fatal shooting. As Citizens for Truth confront the LAPD and the mainstream media while simultaneously attempting to hold themselves together amidst inner turmoil, a closer look at the alleged assassin, a twenty-four year old black man named Alek Hiddell, begins to uncover a troubling conspiracy centered on the District Attourney. It seems that immediately following the assassination, Hiddel was shot to death in a hotel basement by a lone LAPD officer, leaving doubts as to his guilt and growing suspicion of corruption within the LAPD. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Special Features:
- "The Kill Zone": a step-by-step guide to the assassination controversies with links to the film's massive Web "universe"
- Multi-angle clips of the assassination
- Director's Commentary
- One hour of deleted video and audio footage
- Theatrical Trailer
- Virtual "2nd DVD" of bonus materials available online through BitPass
GreenCine Staff Pick: Brian Flemming is not one to shy from controversy. He's recently been venturing into churches in the heart of Bush country to discuss his latest documentary, The God Who Wasn't There. While I personally suspect he's wrong about the historical Jesus (Flemming argues he never existed), he's proven on his popular blog to be such an alert and insightful voice that I know well enough to listen with respect. The first I'd heard of Brian Flemming was a few years ago at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, where he screened an early version of Nothing So Strange, a brilliant, unique and highly entertaining examination of how, why and what we choose to believe. The event that gets the ball rolling may be sensational - the assassination of Bill Gates - but it's ultimately beside the point. We quickly latch onto a group of grassroots activists, the Citizens for Truth (yes, they have a website), who not only aren't buying the official version of what actually happened but also campaigning hard to replace it with their own. Flemming absolutely nails the frictional dynamics of a group of strong personalities all too loosely bound together by an all but hopeless cause. In case you haven't guessed by now, Flemming uses the conventions of doc filmmaking to tell a fictional story. But I wouldn't call it a "mockumentary"; there are laughs, but it's not a comedy, just as there are tears, though Nothing So Strange is not, strictly speaking, a tragedy, either. As tboot writes, "I'm not sure what the preferred term is these days - mock doc, fake doc, faux doc, whatever - but this is the best of them." -- David Hudson
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| complete waste of time
by mbiraboy
April 18, 2006 - 2:07 PM PDT
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| Yes, they made a movie that appears to be a documentary but isn't. Unlike other mockumentaries, however, this one isn't funny, nor is there any significant social commentary, and for me it was completely uninteresting. It would only be a modestly interesting film if it were true. As a film school assignment, it would get an A for accurately mimicking the style of documentary. For you, however, it would be ever so much more worth your time to watch almost any real documentary. |
| Fake, Mock Doc
by talltale
September 22, 2005 - 4:22 PM PDT
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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NOTHING SO STRANGE is pretty damn strange--quite the oddity, film-wise: a mockumentary of an event (the assassination of Bill Gates) that never happened. Consequently the entire follow-up is spurious, as are all the "subjects and themes" raised by the film (truth, class, personal vs public agendae), as cleverly put together as the movie often is. While I understand that the budget here was probably half-a-shoestring, still, when has Bill Gates EVER appeared before this tiny a crowd?
The Gates episode begins the film with a faux feel, but other lively moments counter it. Along the way, you may find yourself thinking anything from "Wow--this is so like the Kennedy 'sas" to "Gheesh! Counterfeit on top of fake on top of phony" to "Ummm! Just like life!" to "Huh? Yawn..." I thought all those things as the film progressed, and by the end I didn't really care much. To its credit, the movie's short, so however you feel, only around 75 minutes will have disappeared from your life. |
| THE Great Mock Doc
by tboot
April 30, 2004 - 7:36 PM PDT
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5 out of 9 members found this review helpful
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| I'm not sure what the preferred term is these days -- mock doc, fake doc, faux doc, whatever -- but this is the best of them. An absolutely flawless execution, no pun intended, of the investigation -- or lack thereof -- of the assassination of Bill Gates. Don't miss the Web sites connected to the movie, which extend the fiction brilliantly. I haven't seen the DVD, so i can't comment on the extras, but it's a great movie. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.30)
30 Votes
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