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The Amazing Johnathan

ENCORE + Q&A with Louis Theroux

Thu 01 Jan 1970 - Thu 01 Jan 1970

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£7* | £5* students/under 25s | 3 films for £18*

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The Amazing Johnathan

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>

The Amazing Johnathan

+ Satellite Q&A with Louis Theroux and Ben Berman

Dir. Ben Berman
91 mins + 30 min Q&A | USA | 2019

SHOWING TIMES:

  • Tue 19 Nov: 6.15pm 
  • Sun 1 Dec: 4pm (Encore screening)

What begins as a film on a unique magician who built a career out of shock and deception in the 1980s becomes a bizarre story about the unravelling of the documentarian.

After Johnathan is diagnosed with a terminal heart condition and given one year to live, he’s forced to retire his act. Cut to three years later: Johnathan is not dead, much to everyone’s amazement, and documentarian Ben Berman films the illusionist on an epic comeback tour. 

But as their mutual journey kicks off, Johnathan drops a bombshell that sends the film spiralling into uncertainty. Embracing this unforeseen obstacle, Ben delves deeper to determine what is truth and what is illusion. Built into the heart of this quick-witted and highly Meta story is an indelible commentary on the process and ethics of making a documentary today. Issues of negotiation and access become the central threads that reveal, and further cloud, our understanding of this elusive protagonist. This debut feature is a wild ride that careens off the rails in highly entertaining and unexpected ways.



VENUE: EXETER PHOENIX, STUDIO 74

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