Tell Me Who I Am (film / doco): A truly unique story that is reasonably entertaining

When i first started watching this I wasn't convinced that it was a true story because it seemed a little "out there" and kind of impractical because of the amount of things that needed to happen in order for the story to work. However, as it turns out this story is 100% true and is based on the actual lives of Marcus and Alex Lewis and it actually is the brothers in the documentary also.

As always i try to avoid spoilers but if you want to go into a movie "blind" it is best to avoid these things

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When Alex Lewis was involved in a motorcycle accident at the age of 18 he suffered rather severe brain damage and was in a coma. When he awoke in the hospital he didn't recognize or know who anyone was, including his own mother and himself. There was one exception: He recognized and remembered his twin brother Marcus.

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As Alex is reintroduced to his life, he doesn't remember any of it - nothing - not his house, not his friends, not his family, not his possessions... he is occasionally perplexed to find out that he actually already knows how to do certain things such as ride a bike only to become horribly lost if he gets out of sight of his home.

He has no memories of his childhood and depends on his brother to inform him about everything that has happened in his life and he trusts that his brother is telling him the truth about everything. However, Marcus, it would be revealed many years later, wasn't entirely forthcoming about Alex's (and his own) past.

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_{Alex and Marcus, today}

This documentary exhibits a situation that is so incredibly unique that I actually paused the film to check to see if it is true because it seemed so outlandish and hard to believe, but it actually is a true story and the big reveal of things that Markus hasn't told Alex happens for the first time on camera (well, i'm not really sure that I believe that aspect of it since unless i am mistaken this is based on a book of the same name.)

It presents an interesting dilemma: If you had the chance to eliminate from someone else's mind a truly traumatic series of situations because they don't remember them, would you tell them? Would you be totally honest or would you lie in order to not burden them with memories that you yourself also experienced and know are truly horrible?

_{From the official Netflix channel}

This is a harrowing tragic story that at times becomes difficult to believe. At least from all testimony that I can find online the story is completely true and it certainly is worth watching for the right type of person. It isn't entertaining in the way that say and action or mystery film would be because a vast majority of the screen-time consists of interviews with the two brothers - but the story they weave is very compelling, a bit scary, and at times a bit hard to believe.

Although it could end up being perceived as a bit boring, if you enjoy true-life drama.. it doesn't get much more real than this.

My overall rating!

_{on a side note i have to say that I am confused about people who have completely lost their memories but somehow haven't forgotten how to talk and read. Language is extremely complicated and I am perplexed how this seems to be unaffected in almost all cases of amnesia}