In 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sin... Read allIn 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.In 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.
- Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys
- 12 wins & 58 nominations total
- Self
- (as Bobby Shafran)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- Self - President, Louise Wise Services
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThey were actually quadruplets, the fourth died at birth and was unknown until after the documentary.
- Quotes
Robert Shafran: When I tell people my story, they don't believe it. I guess I wouldn't believe the story if someone else were telling it, but , I'm telling it and it's true, every word of it.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies You Missed This Summer (2018)
- SoundtracksSince You Been Gone
Written by Russ Ballard
Performed by Rainbow
Published by Union Square Music Songs Ltd., a BMG Company
Courtesy of Polydor Records (US)
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd.
The story is told quite sequentially, and, again, that is in service of providing more drama as the Doc unfolds. Because the events go back to the 60s, many of the participants aren't around any longer to speak for themselves. Still, Wardle and his team managed to assemble a good cross-section of survivors to go on the record. Because the story was such a cause celebre in the early 80s (and in the NYC area to boot) we are also able to see a decent amount of historical footage of the triplets and their rise to fame including trips to the Today show, Donahue and a brief cameo in Susan Seidelman's DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (supposedly at the behest of star Madonna). Some fairly minor dramatic re-enactments are also employed, and aren't distracting (Wardle also maintains the proper aspect ratio in much of the vintage footage - to his credit).
As the true tale turns darker, a few issues with the filmmaking arrive. I won't delve into spoilers (I avoided them myself in order for the Doc to have maximum impact), but, the old Nurture vs. Nature debate becomes a key point of contention - as it does with all of these 'separated at birth' cases. Because of the way Wardle structures his editing, we mostly get the 'Nature' perspective until very late in the process. Further, a major cache of evidence is dropped in at the very last moment, and isn't sufficiently analyzed. It's understood that after five years in the making, Wardle, Raw, Neon and other production entities wanted to get their movie done and released, but one can't help but feel the editing was wrapped up in order to get a prized Sundance Film Festival spot. Wardle also includes a couple of curious montages repeating what we've seen earlier as if he had an eye on TV showings (CNN is set to show it). But, these problems pale compared to Wardle's casting a light on some highly unethical behavior that effected the triplets' lives.
These relatively minor issues aside, THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS again shows why there is a bit of Documentary boom going on. In a cinema dominated by Superhero and Animated flicks, there is a yearning among some adults for movies of substance and reality. STRANGERS is a true emotional roller-coaster.
- gortx
- Jul 13, 2018
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Три схожих незнайомці
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,320,845
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $171,503
- Jul 1, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $13,448,497
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1