'Three Identical Strangers' Is the Best Documentary Film of 2018

For many, the best documentary film of 2018 is Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, which is also projected to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.  However, for me, my pick is Three Identical Strangers.

The documentary starts off with recounting Robert Shafran’s first day in college, in which, to his astonishment, everyone there seems to know him already.  Just as he was settling down in his dorm room, he was approached by a young man who had figured out what was going on.  This young man was a friend of Edward Galland, the student that Robert was being mistaken of.  Apparently, Robert and Edward were twins given up for adoption to two different families, each side unaware of the existence of a twin.  That same night, Robert went to meet Edward for the first time since they were babies.

It’s a strange story that couldn’t get any stranger.

But it did.  Months later, David Kellman read a newspaper carrying a news article about Edward and Robert’s fateful reunion.  To his shock, the two boys on the photo looked exactly like him!  As it turns out, he was the third brother.  They were triplets!  Soon, he would join his brothers, and the triplets quickly developed a bond.  They compared notes about their lives, and to their delight, they found that they have plenty of things in common.

Their mindblowing story swept the nation.  They became celebrities, and had numerous TV guestings.  They even got to cameo in a Madonna movie.

But all these were covered by just the first 20 minutes of the film.  What would the rest of it be about then?

Well, there’s actually much more to this surreal story, and it really goes down the rabbit hole.  With every layer peeled, the details revealed about the triplets only get more and more uncanny, particularly with regards to the true nature of their adoption and separation.  Why were they sent out to three different families, and why were these families not informed that they were triplets?  The answer will surely shock.

Indeed, after starting at a feel-good note, it gradually evolves into something more gripping, disturbing, and brooding.  The twists and turns involved in it are superior to most well-plotted thrillers out there, and the reflections it will elicit are extensive and rich.  As a result, it’s an utterly absorbing film.  No wonder it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the Sundance Film Festival.

Three Identical Strangers is a must-watch!