“Stories We Tell” is one of the most personal films I’ve ever experienced.

A documentary about Sarah Polley, written and directed by Polley, is utterly fascinating — a film that starts in one direction, only to surprise you as layers are peeled back.

The background for the film is simple. Polley learned a few years ago that she was the product of an extramarital affair.

Since Polley’s mother died when Polley was 11, she had to go through other means to learn who her father was — and eventually had to share this revelation with the man who she thought was her father.

What makes “Stories We Tell” so fascinating is that Polley explores this journey from all angles — interviewing family members, friends of her late mother, and people who might shed more light on her affair.

Interviews with the man she thought was her father pack an emotional punch that become even more emotional as the film progresses.

The result is a movie that becomes much more than Polley discovering her real father. It is a film that explores the very fabric of family, and how perception isn’t always reality. Some stories contradict one another, showing how one moment can be seen with multiple perspectives.

Perhaps what makes “Stories We Tell” so effective is the way Polley weaves her film — with the final act featuring several unexpected twists (including a final revelation during the credits that clouds the whole story even more) that leave the audition questioning their own perspectives of the story.

This is film that is both beautiful and sad, melancholy and uplifting, straight forward and mysterious.

It’s a documentary that is more than that.

It’s a profound piece of work from Polley that is the best film of 2013 to date.

GRADE: A