Film ReviewsTwinsters: pop! POP!
Feb 4, 2016 Anchorage Press
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Samantha (Sam) Futerman has lived the all-American experience-or a version of it-because she was adopted from South Korea and grew up in a middle-class family with two older brothers, and a stable and loving family. As Sam grows up she pursues the California dream of being an actress in Los Angeles. Sam, like many of her generation has grown up in a digital age, in which lives are partly lived in the ether. Life events that are captured via Facebook, Instagram, tumbler, pinterest, youtube, ello, etc. range from what is for lunch, to vacation photos, to breakups, and in Sam's case, to the discovery that she's not alone in the world; thus giving a different meaning to her identity as an adopted child. Sam learns through friends on Facebook that she has a new friend request and she may want to accept it because it's from none other than Anaïs Bordier, a French fashion student living in London who happens to look exactly like Sam. From that moment on, Samantha Futerman began recording the interactions between her and Anaïs. The documentary brings viewers along the digital road of curiosity and subsequent discovery that Sam and Anaïs are indeed twins born in South Korea, separated at birth and adopted into different parts of the world. This is hardly a spoiler alert since the title of the film says it all.
Twinsters is a heartfelt documentary. The film is also incredibly charming and delightful because the young women are smart, beautiful, charismatic and honest about their emotional connection and fears. Anaïs is poignant and articulate about the emotional trauma of what it means to be given up for adoption, especially as the women go in search of their biological roots. Their meeting and the development of their relationship is easy to follow and understand. Sam and Anaïs' sisterly love grows through interactions marked by a series of audible "pings" and "pops" on their phones and laptops that signal their presence in each other's lives. This delivery mechanism is so ubiquitous that it forms part of the women's language as an expression of kinship and love.
For the all things that Twinsters does right, like the technical delivery that is well done, the flawless editing, the consistent voice that runs through it, and a somewhat compelling story, there is still something that is seriously missing. The film spans 90 minutes, and that's about 45 minutes too long. The delight that comes from watching the women giggle and laugh, is great but wears thin at about 40 minutes in. The documentary lacks substance that would allow viewers to be part of the story. Twinsters touches on a lot of potential directions that beg to be explored at deeper levels but are just not, such as the psychology of twins, the science, the political and social structures that play a role in their lives, etc. Perhaps it is that the film is based on a form of storytelling that is superficial and fleeting-like Facebook-in which events, big and small, are quickly buried in timelines and, out of sight, out of mind.
Twinsters shows on Monday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Bear Tooth.
Twinsters is a heartfelt documentary. The film is also incredibly charming and delightful because the young women are smart, beautiful, charismatic and honest about their emotional connection and fears. Anaïs is poignant and articulate about the emotional trauma of what it means to be given up for adoption, especially as the women go in search of their biological roots. Their meeting and the development of their relationship is easy to follow and understand. Sam and Anaïs' sisterly love grows through interactions marked by a series of audible "pings" and "pops" on their phones and laptops that signal their presence in each other's lives. This delivery mechanism is so ubiquitous that it forms part of the women's language as an expression of kinship and love.
For the all things that Twinsters does right, like the technical delivery that is well done, the flawless editing, the consistent voice that runs through it, and a somewhat compelling story, there is still something that is seriously missing. The film spans 90 minutes, and that's about 45 minutes too long. The delight that comes from watching the women giggle and laugh, is great but wears thin at about 40 minutes in. The documentary lacks substance that would allow viewers to be part of the story. Twinsters touches on a lot of potential directions that beg to be explored at deeper levels but are just not, such as the psychology of twins, the science, the political and social structures that play a role in their lives, etc. Perhaps it is that the film is based on a form of storytelling that is superficial and fleeting-like Facebook-in which events, big and small, are quickly buried in timelines and, out of sight, out of mind.
Twinsters shows on Monday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Bear Tooth.