Three Identical Strangers

What if on your first day as a college freshman you were greeted by people as if they knew you, girls kissed you, and everyone called you Eddy, although your name was Bobby? That’s what happened to 19-year-old Robert Shafran in 1980, who eventually discovered that he was one of identical triplets who had been separated at birth and adopted by three different families. Robert’s brother Eddy attended New York’s Sullivan County Community College the year before. In New York on July 12, 1961, an unmarried Jewish woman gave birth to triplets and then relinquished the trio to what was considered the top Jewish agency, Louise Wise Services, which placed the babies. Reunited by chance, the brothers—Shafran, David Kellerman, and Edward Galland—became friends, a media sensation, and opened a restaurant. But there is a sinister backstory: the adoptive parents were never told that their sons had identical siblings and were part of a secret psychological study by Dr. Peter Neubauer, a psychiatrist at the Manhattan Child Development Center. Neubauer, who died in 2008, was an Austrian-Jewish émigré who apparently placed several multiples with adoptive parents of different socioeconomic backgrounds in order to research the question of nature vs. nurture. Working from New Yorker journalist Lawrence Wright’s investigation, director Tim Wardle utilizes extensive interviews and archival footage to tell this story. And while 10,000 pages of redacted information have already been released, the bulk of Neubauer’s twin study will legally remain sealed at Yale University until 2066, despite pleas from former subjects demanding the truth about their backgrounds. An engrossing, often enraging documentary, this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Tim Wardle and editor Michael Harte, a Q&A with Wardle and film subjects David Kellman and Robert Shafran (11 min.), and a photo gallery. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a mind-blowing documentary.] (S. Granger)