This witty, playful and challenging portrait of Alfred Hitchcock is part film-theory essay, part conceptual collage, but much more fun than either of those things suggests. Around a skilfully recreated anecdote about Hitchcock meeting his own doppelgänger at Universal Studios, Johan Grimonprez blends intros from Hitchcock’s TV career, some hilarious Folger’s coffee commercials from the ’50s, a portrait of Hitchcock look-a-like Ron Burrage and newsreel footage detailing US/USSR unease during the ’60s.
While the relationship between the threads is tough to discern, it is assembled with such flair that you’ll have fun joining the dots. But what comes out strongest is a love and feel for Hitchcock’s work and unique sense of play.