Con Man Confidential

Alexander Adolph, Germany, 2006, 84 mins

Peter managed to sell rich executives tickets for a trip to the moon. Torsten passed himself off as diplomatic ambassador for a lark. In four hours Marc sold a holiday home he didn't own. In this riveting documentary, Alexander Adolph has four lifelong con men describe how they con and what drives them to do it. To listen to these men tell, with some pride, how they have swindled scores of "greedy" people out of their savings, you might think that they are some kind of modern-day Robin Hood. To listen to the devastated victims and ashamed family members is another matter. Not surprisingly, behind the heartlessness of these crimes are men with very messed up childhoods. A chilling, absolutely engrossing insight into the type of person we hope we only ever come across on a movie screen.