The Truth Is Out There (2011)

Powerful

Great Film overall

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Not what I expected...better! Dean is the perfect "investigator" for this subject - conspiracy theories! He brings his personal blend of insight, irreverence, honesty, empathy, and comedy to bear with a series of interesting (to say the least) conspiracy theorists! Even though the film is over 2 hours long, the pacing keeps you glued to the screen. The production quality is top notch, first rate. Every modern conspiracy theory you've ever heard (and a few you haven't) is explored with some explanations you know, and quite a few you don't! The documentary-style film is entertaining and educational and leaves you wanting more! See it!

I am not a typical conspiracy theorist and while they go through my head, I try not to focus on them. Going to see this film was big for me because I was conflicted at what I want to know versus not wanting to know. While watching the film, I was not always sure where it was going. Some ideas were out there and comical and others re-iterated ones I have heard before. What was the surprise was the way the director weaved the film and its stories together in such a way that by the end, I was feeling different than I thought I would. There is a message from several different theorists that leave you with a feeling of hope. This was not the film I thought it would be and as the director states in his podcast that I stayed afterwords to watch, the film took on a path of it's own and I believe that is why it was a success to finish the way the director allowed it. You will laugh out loud at parts, turn your head sideways at other parts and think when you really need to about reality. It is my strong recommendation that you listen to the podcast (I get it from itunes- chillpak Hollywood hour, but I know there are other sources) from after the US Premier on May 21st, 2011. The star and director share their thoughts on the film and people in them. They are articulate and thought provoking with their comments and added a lot of respect to the film for me. The director ends the podcast on one of the best and touching notes that I have heard in a while, but don't listen to the podcast until you see this film.

This documentary is an interesting story following Dean Haglund and filmmaker Phil Leirness as they journey through the world of UFO conventions and conspiracy theories. I was lucky enough to attend the Premiere in London, as part of the SCI-FI-London Film Festival (2011).As some have already mentioned it isn't a definitive guide to the conspiracy theories at large, I don't think it is meant to be, there are just too many of them. The movie however shows a more "relaxed" side to a diversity of people who have strong beliefs in what they see as their own truth and as the documentary unfolds, we see Dean's own journey progress with each encounter. With interviews from interesting people from all over the globe, it's warm, funny and scary at times. I like the way the movie seems to stay in neutral territory and allow the interviews to take on a life of their own, giving the individuals their own space to express themselves. With so many different, passionate stories, its hard not to be entertained and appreciate this piece of work.

I saw this documentary at the BFI in London a few days ago and have to say it is a curious film. Initially I had been led to believe that it was an investigation by Dean Haglund into conspiracy theories and their generation and popularity, however, in retrospect it is something quite different. It meanders and weaves and doesn't succeed in coming to any meaningful point. One thing that I struggled with through the entire film is that nobody is put into context, and in fact there is also no attempt to analyse different types of conspiracy theory or to explain why they remain an ever present part of popular culture. Instead we have Dean Haglund interviewing a variety of individuals, and this really means a very passive form of interviewing - he lets each protagonist have their say and is open minded and not challenging in any way to the things that are said. We also see, inter-cut, a therapy session for Dean Haglund that seems to culminate in the observation that everyone has their own truth and world view. It would have been a great point to have cut to the various interviewees to ask them : Why do you think the way you do and when did you begin to think like this? The film feels too long - it's well over 2 hours and there seem to be some completely irrelevant scenes - we see Dean talking to his nephew and his brother about their travel plans and homelife, and also that Dean Haglund has invented a laptop cooling system...not that interesting and in fact not helpful to the narrative at all. There are also some really strange issues with the score, which sometimes gets really loud, and in fact during one interview with a particularly passionate radio host convinced me that the film was about to end...but it didn't. Normally I would have expected some hypothesis to have been tested, or for some revelations and illustrations to provide some framework to have educated the audience by the end of the film but this just didn't happen. I am not joking when one audience member fell asleep and began to snore during this showing! To be fair there are a handful of laughs during the film but it is not especially humorous, nor intelligently handled so one is left wondering just what the filmmakers were trying to achieve. Overall I feel this documentary is a mish mash of unrelated scenes that has little to add to the subject area. Dean Haglund seems a fairly pleasant guy but you don't need a 2 hours plus documentary to tell you that.