Double Take

Filmmaker Johan Grimonprez draws a surprising parallel between the anxieties of the Cold War and the Master of Suspense in this fusion of documentary and dark comedy. In Double Take, Grimonprez explores the paranoia of America during the Cold War while using clips of the classic television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents as a commentary on America's mood during the 1950s and '60s. As Grimonprez ponders the symbiotic nature of politics and popular culture, he also presents a fictional narrative (inspired by a short story by Jorge Luis Borges) in which Hitchcock (played by Ron Burrage and voiced by Mark Perry), while on a studio lot, encounters a man who looks exactly like him, a situation that popped up more than once in the great director's films. Hitchcock once said, "If you meet your double, you should kill him," but is that advice the great man takes himself? And how do these doubles reflect a world in which fear and nationalism have taken center stage? Double Take was an official selection at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival.