MovieChat Forums > Let There Be Light (1980) Discussion > was this a fake documentary?

was this a fake documentary?

posted 11 years ago by tyrexden
6 replies | jump to latest

I mean, i get that the subject matter is a real topic, but from the very first interview subjects, i never once got the impression i was watching real people. It all appeared staged, like a 1950's propaganda film, where they re-enact scenarios.

It was really subtle, but i think they didn't realize back then how a human can distinguish between reality and fiction with little cues.

The actors never acknowledged the camera...
Then they'd do an over-the-head shot, then the take from the opposite angle, but then 'other' camera isn't present in either shot...
Then, the camera would just happen to be filming and zooming in at a crucial juncture, like when 2 people kiss, or some guy hands off a piece of paper... all very choreographed.

I'm not saying it was 100% all staged, but i definitely think a great chunk of it was.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] tyrexden 11 years ago

Well.... true.. true... I prefer to think that all documentaries craft reality to match a particular agenda that its trying to push... I get that.. I think a good documentary SHOULD have some type of agenda, and it will need to bend some things to make it happen.

When i say 'fake', i mean it in terms of presenting patients as real patients, when in fact, they are actors. This goes beyond the pale of presenting a certain reality, but is instead being intentionally deceiving.

I think Michael Moore is a talented documentarian though i did lose some respect for him in Farenheit 9/11 because i think he was overly deceitful in his presentation.

[–] yourfns 9 years ago

Nothing but respect for the greatest generation.... But I'm calling *beep* on this documentary. Sure Huston was a vet but first and foremost a filmmaker

[–] jmillerdp 9 years ago

Why would this have been faked? What's the motive? The film was banned for 35 years just because it featured actual soldiers who went through actual trauma. And, the footage of them is from their actual sessions.

The reasons given for the Army not letting the film be released is because they didn't believe the patients could have properly consented to be filmed given their condition.

The reason to think this film is faked can only come from someone who denies the reality of PTSD and mental illness.

I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood

[–] schultzalan-1 9 years ago

I just watched the documentary and it isn't faked although the soundtrack gives it an artifice common to the 1940s and 50s. I've dealt with mental illness. These people have the exact same natural ticks that people who suffer from mental illness do. And,as with people who suffer from mental illness, these ticks are unpredictable. Those were people who were dealing with mental illness. The problem here is the artificial soundtrack which provides unnecessary music for situations in which the only thing you should be able to here is the patients voices themselves.

[–] pepetoony (1534) 6 years ago

Just watched this on Netflix and for the first 30 minutes or so took it at face value (that it was real and not acted out). But then it just got too far-fetched to be believable. All of the patients just *snapped* right out of their PTSD after one shot of truth serum or one hypnosis session. I too then started noticing the multiple camera angles that were all perfectly choreographed. How convenient! It was also odd to me that out of that massive hospital, all of the men shown in the 'documentary' just happened to be in the same group therapy sessions, sleeping quarters and baseball team and also appeared to be the only ones eating in the cafeteria. Where were all the other patients!? And then the **HAPPY ENDING** where they rode off into the sunset all cured & waving out of the windows of the bus whilst driving into their bright futures sealed the deal. Fake! This is no better than a North Korean propaganda piece. I wish I'd known this beforehand, as it could have saved me an hour of my life.