Netflix offers us another interesting docuseries in its catalog: 'Mark Hoffman: a counterfeiter among Mormons'. Here we review it without spoilers.
Among the Netflix premieres for this March is Mark Hoffman: A Counterfeiter Among Mormons, a documentary directed by Jared Hess that addresses the murky story of an extremely intelligent and curious man who used his talents to falsify, put in check a religion, and sadly taking the lives of two people.
Mark Hoffman: A Forger Among Mormons is a docuseries of three episodes of one hour each. It reviews the story of this man who would go down in history as a dangerous forger and who continues to serve his sentence.
Here we review this recent Netflix documentary without spoilers.
A mystery named Mark Hoffman
Hess's documentary delves into the history of Mark Hoffman with testimonials from those involved and associates of this character, with archival material from the time, as well as short and well-made re-enactments. The story that Mark Hoffman confronts us with: a forger among Mormons is complex and disturbing. It shows us a man who was climbing in his tricks to get, yes, money. But beyond that, feeding an ego so big that it crossed all limits.
Mark Hoffman: A forger among Mormons dives into Salt Lake City, Utah, where Hoffman lived and operated. The context of the place is very pertinent since it is a deeply Mormon city and the cradle of this powerful religion. Hoffman himself came from a Mormon family but lost his faith in adolescence. This is very relevant because from now on this detachment from his religion of origin and his radical atheism, in addition, of course, to his lack of empathy, would lead him to threaten the lives of other people.
The documentary does not show Hoffman's testimonies in his current condition, as it appears that he did not want to respond to the calls of the producers. Of course, he collects archive material and his interrogation where he lets us see a bit of that mystery called Mark Hoffman. And it is that neither his closest family, his friends nor his wife (who does appear in the documentary at the present time) has been able to decipher what was happening and what happened with that man they thought they knew.
Mark Hoffman: A Forger Among Mormons
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| Murder Among the Mormons, episode 3. c. Courtesy of Netflix © 2021 |
In the increasingly frequent true crime titles, many times there are loose ends, mysteries that will surely last forever. However, in Mark Hoffman: A Forger Among Mormons things are somewhat different. Perhaps because the mystery is the same perpetrator of the forgeries and deadly attacks that he did. Perhaps because his confessions and accounts of his own actions are so brutal that it leaves us stunned.
And it is that Hoffman dedicated himself to elaborating supposed documents of the Mormon church that shook it from its roots. This man became famous among antique dealers and people dedicated to historical archives because he seemed to have an extraordinary nose and ability to find unique, rare and, of course, very expensive documents and treasures.
Among his most famous discoveries was the so-called "Salamander Letter", an alleged document from the founders of the Mormon church in which he claimed that a magical salamander and not an angel named Moroni had shown Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, the place where the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon came were. This and other documents made by Hoffman put the Mormon church in check. Institution that, as might be expected, was willing to buy anything that would cast doubt on its most precious bases.
The paradox in Mark Hoffman's story: a forger among Mormons is that Hoffman began to stumble over his own mistakes. Not in the falsification but in his financial debts and in the many loose ends that he left and that soon put him against the wall. Hoffman made bombs that he detonated both to silence what was weighing on him, and for reasons best discovered at the end of the documentary.
A life sentence
Thus, those deadly attacks and one more on himself, as well as the intervention of a cunning and headstrong police officer, marked the end of Hoffman. As part of the legal agreement, he confessed his actions and explained them in great detail. He is currently in prison and, according to Mark Hoffman: a forger among Mormons, he will remain there until the last of his days.
Mark Hoffman: A Forger Among Mormons is an ideal docuseries for all those who like true crime and well-made documentaries. Although it is not surprising on a technical level, it is very tailored and, best of all, it does not take detours or lengthen the issues it tries to put on the table.
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