Stories We Tell
As the only documentary on this list, Stories We Tell forsakes fantastical devices such as dream worlds and time travel and instead focuses on the inherent complexity of creating a sensible narrative. The film carefully deconstructs and recreates tales from the filmmaker’s youth as she tries to decode the story of her own existence. Director Sarah Polley draws out incredible depth with the use of found footage, staged scenes, narration, and interviews. As the film progresses it becomes painfully and poetically clear how memory is fractured and the ease with which fiction and truth continually supplant each other. Stories We Tell is an elegant reminder that as engaging as multi-layered fictions can be, real life is already a trip.
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