Twinsters by Samantha Futerman
Rating *****
Samantha Futerman is an aspiring actress. She is Korean. She was adopted as a baby by an American family and raised in Southern California. Like most aspiring actors, her work can be found on Youtube. By chance, an individual stumbled upon one of her videos and noticed a resemblance to a friend he knew. Thus begins the moving journey of Samantha and Anais.
When Anais learns of Sam and the striking resemblance between them, she reaches out by Facebook. A little research by both girls reveals that they both have the same birthdate. Anais, who was raised in France but now living in London, was also adopted. Could they be sisters? That is the question that begins this remarkable documentary.
I don’t know when the idea of making a documentary first occurred. But what makes the film work on so many levels is that the filmmakers let the viewer share in the journey of Sam and Anais as they begin communicating through texts and Skype. They could have put together this same film long after the two girls had met and the truth is known, and that would have been a great story as well. But to have the foresight to start filming at the very beginning, as the pieces of the puzzle are still falling into place, adds an emotional level that would have been impossible to duplicate. The viewer watches and experiences the same emotions as the two girls and their respective families experience in real time.
In the book and film Lion, technology plays a role in helping Saroo find his family. The same is true here. Give Twinsters a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Twinsters is available on Netflix.