A Genuine Forger is a documentary film released in 2015 directed by Jean-Luc Leon. It explores the life of Guy Ribes, a French painter and art forger, who worked for decades producing countless imitations of famous paintings, including Van Gogh, Picasso, and Matisse. The film is an intimate journey into the artist's life, and includes interviews with Ribes as well as his family, friends, and accomplices.
The story begins with Ribes in his early years, living in the countryside with his family. He discovered his love for painting at a young age and showed a natural talent for it. However, his life took a different turn when he moved to Paris as a young man, trying to make a living as an artist. Having failed to find a market for his original paintings, he started copying famous works of art and selling them to dealers who believed they were genuine. This was the beginning of his art forgery career.
The film explores the many disguises that Ribes used to avoid detection, how he faked signatures of famous artists and manipulated ageing processes to make his forgeries look genuine. The documentary also shows old footage of him working in secret and discusses how the art market is manipulated by dealers and collectors.
Guy Ribes was eventually arrested in 2010 and served a prison sentence. He recounts how he was betrayed by one of his accomplices and how he felt the legal system betrayed him when he was sentenced to prison. The film touches on his feelings of guilt for deceiving people and how he has tried to make amends by contacting buyers of his forgeries and offering to buy them back.
The documentary also features interviews with museum specialists and experts who discuss the technical aspects of Ribes' forgeries, highlighting why they were so difficult to detect. One expert, Phillip Mould, praises the quality of Ribes' forgeries, calling him the "Rembrandt of Forgers."
The film explores the wider question of art and authenticity in the modern age, discussing how museums and collectors often prioritise the value of artwork over its artistic merit or authenticity. It reveals how the art world operates behind closed doors and how it can be manipulated by a few powerful individuals.
A Genuine Forger is a well-made and thought-provoking documentary that delves deep into the life of a fascinating man. The film raises important questions about the nature of art and how it is valued in our society. It also provides a unique insight into Ribes' life, offering a chance to understand his motivations and explore his innermost thoughts. The combination of interviews, old footage and reenactments of Ribes' past make for a compelling and enthralling watch.
A Genuine Forger is a 2016 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 28 minutes.
It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1.
