'Unknown White Male': extraordinary film or hoax?

On a hot summer morning in July 2003, a 35-year-old stockbroker got on a New York City subway heading toward Coney Island. When he got off, he had no idea who he was.

"I was scared," said Doug Bruce, who learned his name when he traced a single phone number in his backpack to an ex-girlfriend. "It's not anxiety. You're scared."

Bruce was taken to a psychiatric ward where his wristband read: "Unknown White Male." He was diagnosed with amnesia, and, just days later, his friend began to document the man's slow journey of self-discovery.

That documentary, "Unknown White Male," created enormous buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, but the excitement was soon followed by questions about the film's validity.

"The one thing that does seem suspicious to people is that it was documented from the very beginning," said Ian Mohr of Variety.

The film's director, Rupert Murray, said he understood people's skepticism, but he insisted it was all true.

"He's [Bruce] had the courage to tell his story and let the people enjoy and be inspired by what's happened to him," Murray said.

In the documentary, doctors confirm the amnesia diagnosis, caused by the bursting of a cyst in the brain.

"His cyst is in a location in the brain that is very near some of the memory sensors, in particular, the fibers that are connecting the left and right hemisphere," said Dr. Isabelle Germano, a professor of neurosurgery at Mount Sinai.

Bruce is now a commercial photographer working in New York City. He says the hardest part of his condition is his inability to remember his mother, who died when he was 23. His girlfriend, whom he met after the amnesia, worries about whether they will still be in love if he gets his memory back.

"Unknown White Male" opens tonight in select cities.

Watch the trailer here.