The Amazing Johnathan Documentary

Ben Berman's 2019 documentary begins as a record of a sick magician's final tour. The Amazing Johnathan was a well known stage magician in the eighties and nineties, given a year to live because of a heart condition, and years have passed with him still alive. Not long after filming starts, Berman learns that other crews are also making documentaries about the same man, and the film turns on itself to describe the director's panic. From that point it becomes unclear which events are real and which are tricks the magician has set up. The documentary takes documentary-making as its subject and deliberately unsettles the viewer's trust. It won a directing award at Sundance. Who it's for: viewers curious about unconventional documentary and the world of stage performance. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a portrait that stays with its subject; the film is largely about its director.