First of all, I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it... and I'd recommend that everyone else do the same.
'Catfish' is a documentary about a young photographer by the name of Yaniv "Nev" Schulman and his bizarre relationship with a family he meets on the Internet. The story begins after Nev had one of his pictures published in a magazine, and shortly after, an 8-year-old girl from Michigan named Abby mails him a painting she drew of his photo. The two find each other on Facebook and begin corresponding via email and social networking. Nev also becomes close with Abby's mother and sister.
What's really interesting about the film is that right from the get-go, you can tell there is going to be some kind of twist, and luckily the movie doesn't disappoint. I was invested from the very beginning, and the film kept me guessing up until the end. I won't spoil the second half of the documentary, but I will say that things were not as they originally seemed.
Some things to take away from the film are the realities and dangers of the social networking age. Sites like Facebook are supposed to bring people closer together, when in reality, they are probably separating us more than ever before. Think about it - we are siting in front of a screen with no idea what's on the other side.
At times, I wondered if the documentary was really factual. The pretense was that these men decided to film Nev's story on basically a whim (perhaps to observe the unique relationship taking place between Nev and this Michigan family he had never met), but what they end up stumbling upon makes for an incredible story. Either way, 'Catfish' is worth watching, and the message remains vital: there's something to be said for face-to-face interactions.
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Genre: Documentary, Drama, Special Interest
Synopsis: In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had noidea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives.
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