Review of "Forbidden Lies," this weekend (9/11-12) and next at The Hollywood Theater

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Forbidden Lies (Documentary, Australia 2007)
Director: Anna Broinowski

A few years ago, I interviewed James Frey when he was touring for the paperback of “A Million Little Pieces.”  I knew the guy was wrong, but it wasn’t my job to challenge him, although I wish I had, because I would have been the first.  He claimed to have woken from a stupor aboard a commercial airliner, covered in blood, filth and body fluids, and not knowing how he got there.
In the post-9/11 world, or even before, no one could board a plane in that condition without intervention.  But, I just did the interview.  Eventually, the truth emerged.
Comes now Norma Khouri, a Jordanian-American woman who caused a sensation with a book about honor killings in the Arab world, in 2001.  She wrote movingly about her friend Dalia, who was murdered by her brother and father because she fell in love with a Christian man.
The book was a best-seller in several languages, and a huge hit in Australia.  Then, things began to erode around the edges.  As journalists in Jordan and Australia began to look into the story of honor killings, Khouri’s tale fell apart.  No one could find any record of “Dalia” or her murder.
Allegations that Khouri was a thief and swindler floated to the surface, and she could prove nothing of her story.
She began to back-and-fill, admitting that the murder didn’t happen exactly the way she wrote it, because she was protecting her and Dalia’s family in Jordan.  Filmmaker Broinowski gave Khouri a trip to Jordan and every opportunity to verify her claims, and this doc is the result
A fascinating look at the culture of celebrity, and the swift way we accept stories that confirm our prejudices, no questions asked.  Good work by the journalists who bird-dogged the claims in the book, and by Broinowski, who continued to feed Khouri the rope that she used to entangle herself.
Most unnerving are the lies that Khouri used to try to throw them off the track, or to discredit her accusers.  Amazing story, well told.
A-