The Other Fellow

nice movie

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source: The Other Fellow

Hello, I am James J. Bond. My coworker pointed this documentary film out to me, and I have to admit I was a little annoyed that nobody contacted me. I've suffered the affliction of having this name since my birth in the Roger Moore era. I found it interesting that several of the other fellows shared similar life-experiences: The anxiety of public roll calls, full name introductions, listening to the same awkward jokes from different people year-after-year and decade-after-decade. Also, having trouble with authority figures when they think you are messing with them upon asking your name. My name nearly led to my arrest on one occasion when I happened to look like the perpetrator. Although I will admit that there have been advantages that came with the package as well. As stated by a few others in the film, the name is a "blessing and a curse". By complete coincidence, I too, am an ornithologist and natural historian (albeit, amateur) like the gentlemen that originally loaned his name to Ian Fleming. If they ever decide to make a sequel, I believe I have some interesting stories to tell. This never happened to the other fellow.

This documentary literally comprises a bunch of random anecdotes from people who are, in real life, named James Bond.. or know someone named James Bond. The result is a banal, random assortment of stories that really have nothing to do with one another, let alone the fandom that probably brought you here in the first place. Its license to thrill doesn't need to be revoked, because it never existed in the first place. Beware. The other fellow never had to sit through sh1te like this. They need more characters from me, apparently, so this message will self destruct in T minus... blah, blah, blah, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE.

What an incredible idea for a film. Matthew Bauer, who directed this and co-wrote it with Rene van Pannevis, went around the world to learn what it's like to actually have the name James Bond. The title for this movie comes from George Lazenby's line in his lone appearance as 007: "This never happened to the other fellow." James Bonds appear - from an inmate to a theater director, a man who runs a Bond museum in Sweden to even a woman who took the name to keep a violent ex-lover from finding where she's gone - and even the story of how Ian Fleming took the name from the ornithology author who wrote the definitive book on the birds of West Indies is told in this exploration of what's in a name, particularly when that name is so famous. Is it a blessing or a curse to be named after - or have the same name - as MI6's top agent? That's what this film gets to the bottom of, yet Bauer does it in an exciting way that lets you know the people behind the names, several of whom have stories that rival anything Fleming wrote. It also tells how Mary Bond, the wife of the namesake of Bond, wrote to Fleming regarding the use of her husband's name. The author wrote back saying, "I must confess that your husband has every reason to sue me. In return, I can only offer your James Bond unlimited use of the name Ian Fleming for any purpose he may think fit. Perhaps one day your husband will discover a particularly horrible species of bird which he would like to christen in an insulting fashion by calling it Ian Fleming." She replied by writing the books How 007 Got His Name and To James Bond With Love, both of which feature very spy action-looking covers. Perhaps the wildest story in this is about Gunnar Schaefer, who changed his name in 2007 to Gunnar James Bond Schäfer. After having a childhood with a father who escaped Germany at the end of World War II, he found a new father figure in Ian Fleming and his creation. Today, he runs a museum out of his auto parts store that houses many Bond props. Bauer spent a decade on this and had the goal that none of these people would just be the name Bond, but instead you would see them as individuals. He has succeeded beyond measure. Also: If you have a problem with a black James Bond, there already is one in this. Get over it.

What starts out a tale of how the name James Bond came to be, and how it affects a number of people who have the same legal name turns into a story of overcoming family abandonment and domestic violence. Director Mathew Bauer has put together what seems like a documentary that would be shallow and short; into a winding and stunningly engaging film that touches the heart in ways you would never expect. From the story of redemption of Fleming himself to the tale of a man over coming abandonment of a parental figure by engaging in a new identity, and, the most surprising of the all the story of triumph over domestic violence through anonymity of a name this doco is honestly just beautifully put together with Bond vibes through out it. The story of the Dark Night and the oppression he faced and that of the Trump supporter reaching out the African American for support shows that though ideals divide us, something as little as a shared name can unite us for compassion for one another. I think we all identify with all the characters in this documentary, we feel pain for those the name was thrust upon, we feel a sense of relief for those who chose to change their name to better their children's lives and we feel trepidation for the next generation to go through this remarkable predicament. How so much can come from such a incredibly SIMPLE concept shows that documentary success is not based on your depths of your concept, is based on how far you are willing to adventure into the concept and how well it is put together by your production team. Sound and Editing stunning and very professional. Particularly touching scenes of the Dark Nights reunions with his family. Well chosen shots and appropriate use of soundscape and transitions. A class production on what I can see was a shoe string budget. The new age of film makers belong to those that have the willing and know how, not those with the funds. Brilliant work, recommend to all. Personal recommendations to those who are/were suffering domestic violence. Long live James Bond's everywhere.

Although I have not seen a James Bond film in many years, I was unexpectedly amazed at The Other Fellow. Ian Fleming was living in Jamaica in the 1950s when he came up with the idea of his now world famous series of books and, later, movies. The name James Bond was taken from a book about birds by an ornithologist living in Pennsylvania at the time. An incredibly diverse set of individuals sharing the name of the 007 spy are profiled and interviewed. A man originally from Germany and living in Sweden runs a James Bond museum and his story is an unusual one. A white man and Black man both live in Indiana and their perspectives are quite different, although they are both named James Bond. A woman in England had a brilliant solution to a stalker ex-husband which is both frightening and whimsical. Once again, as with the 2022 Best Picture, the Oscars blew it by not selecting this movie as Best Documentary. Do not miss this great movie.

Extremely happy to not only have seen the world premiere of this fantastic documentary last night at the Civic in Auckland, but I'm also the first to post a review of it here on IMDb. THE OTHER FELLOW charts men around the globe who all carry the name James Bond. It is at times both hilarious and tragic, with a number of emotional hooks that underline the film. Superbly made - particularly the editing (and sound editing) - it's a film that explores the curse, or perhaps the benefit, of having such a name 60 years after Ian Fleming made it famous. The archival footage of Fleming talking about how he arrived at the name - an interview very familiar to James Bond fans - is painted in a different light here, as we see the 'theft' of the name from the viewpoint of the OG James Bond, the ornithologist and author whose book on birds of the West Indies Fleming lifted it from. There's a lovely thriller element in the last third of the film which takes a few surprising turns, and adds yet another layer on the benefit / curse of the name. I wonder how George Lazenby is going to react to the film given that he's so far been the #1 Australian association with Bond. The director of THE OTHER FELLOW, Matthew Bauer, is Australian, and the name of the film is lifted from perhaps Lazenby's most famous line of dialogue. A life-affirming documentary that should appeal to all audiences - whether you're a fan of the Bond films or not.

Trailer—The Other Fellow