Mistaken for Strangers

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Mistaken for Strangers

2014

1h 20m

Documentary

Comedy

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

61 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Filmmaker Tom Berninger follows members of The National as they embark on an international tour.

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Critics Consensus

A suitably complicated look at fraternal bonds, Mistaken for Strangers offers more depth and insight than the usual tour documentary.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

06/29/2014

2/5

It's an uneven affair, embraced as unguardedly "intimate" by some fans of the band, but in reality less moving than Anvil! The Story of Anvil, and lacking the objective insight of Terry Zwigoff's oddly comparable Crumb.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

06/27/2014

4/5

We loved every minute of Tom's company and his film, right down to Halford's O Holy Night over the closing credits.

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

06/27/2014

4/5

A beautiful movie about fame and family.

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Kip Mooney

Screen Invasion

08/10/2021

A messy experience that's different than the standard tour documentary.

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David Harris

Spectrum Culture

11/22/2019

3/5

Mistaken for Strangers feels like a depressed guy riding his famous older sibling's coattails in a vain attempt to make sense out of his life.

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Tom Bond

One Room With A View

06/15/2019

4/5

Brilliant when exploring the creative process and the internal struggle any artist faces to make something good despite their doubts and fears.

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C M

@Cmorriss 01/23/2023

The insufferable, pretentious jam band makes this cliche documentary a joke not worthy of a Spinal Tap comparison. ST was in on the joke, the National was not.

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Bill T

@Spuzz 05/25/2020

After a ridiculously strong first half, where a brother of a famous rock star goes on tour with his band hired as a roadie, but secretly wants to make a film about the band, this movie sort of tapers off in the second, post tour. As a matter of fact, when that happens, I was sort of shocked, because the most interesting thing was this guy's reactions to being on tour with this band. So how is he going to follow up? We get into a little bit of family life, depression and filmmaking, but I'm sorry. It's just not cutting it.

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12/30/2017

Masterpiece. Pure. Love. Tom talking about Matt's bad dream is one of the best scenes I have ever seen in a movie. And it's also this movie's perfect conclusion.

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10/31/2017

Pretty good movie! Very entertaining to watch even when you don't know the National. It gets very personal and close to the band and into the mind of Tom.

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Brendan N

07/23/2017

I'm not a huge supporter of music documentaries but this was very interesting. The brother lost in the limelight and struggling to find his own place may sound tiresome but this film has a lot of heart. The behind the scenes portrait of one of the greatest and critically acclaimed bands of the last ten years. The film is overly long and never over stays its welcome, the interaction between the brothers are very hilarious and uncomfortable at times. The scene where the older brother is questioning why the younger brother has left a bowl of cereal in the bathroom is priceless. By the end you are swept up in the brothers search for meaning and are provided insight into a band who has managed to avoid mainstream popularity for their duration. 21-07-2017.

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08/30/2016

A documentary that didn't go as planned, and was better than planned. "About Brothers first, music second" - IMDB user

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Tom Berninger

Director

Matt Berninger

Actor

Aaron Dessner

Actor

Bryce Dessner

Actor

Carin Besser

Actor

Barack Obama

Actor

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Tom Berninger follows members of The National as they embark on an international tour.

Director: Tom Berninger
Producer: Matt Berninger, Carin Besser, Craig Charland
Distributor: Abramorama
Production Co: American Mary and the National
Genre: Documentary, Comedy, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 28, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 28, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $785
Runtime: 1h 20m

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