Written by Thelonia
When Bobby Shafran went off to college in 1980, the last thing he was expecting was to find a long lost twin, Eddy Galland. And yet, that's exactly what happened. The story, of two adopted twins reunited after 19 years apart quickly became a huge national story, and that's when David Kellman realized that there was more to the story - Bobby and Eddy weren't twins, they were triplets, and David was the third.
What starts off as a heartwarming tale of brothers learning about each other and forming strong bonds quickly takes a darker turn that just builds on itself as more and more comes out of the woodwork about the triplets' similarities, differences, and just why they were separated in the first place.
Not to get into it, because the film opens a huge can of worms that is devastating in its scope, but there are larger forces at work that never get fully exposed in the documentary, even all these years later. It is likely that all the information on the whole sordid story will only be revealed decades from now, but hopefully this documentary brings to light some injustices and rights some others.
Three Identical Strangers sometimes falters when it comes to hard conclusions, and could use some tighter editing in places (particularly in regards to repeated footage), but the story it tells is so captivating and strange that it really is a must-see. Definitely go in blind, but be prepared for some twists and turns as well as some sobering discussions about ethics and family, as well as a well-timed reminder on the importance of family ties to child development (and why "I was just following orders" is never a good excuse).
Three Identical Strangers is currently in theaters in NYC and LA, and will be released nationwide on July 6th.
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