An Actual Documentary
Movie: Capturing the Friedmans
Year: 2003
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Writer: none (are you listening, Mr. Moore, WGA Best Original Screenplay Recipient?)
My Take: This documentary may be the most exclusive look into the dissolution of a family after a traumatic life experience. It seems odd to say that since this film is also an unrelenting exploration into the experiences of a pedophile. This is obviously not light entertainment. This is a film with a purpose and a message.
Mr. Friedman was an avid home movie buff shooting many family events. He passed this love on to his children and it turned out they were there to document the aftermath of his arrest for child pornography and sexually assaulting his students. His youngest son was also arrested. The film documents the case, the relationship between Mr. Friedman and his wife, he and his children, his wife and his children, and the three boys together. There is haunting imagery throughout.
What struck me as most amazing was that this was not Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, which essentially paints a picture of innocence for those convicted of the crime. Nor is this a film that documents the experiences of an obviously guilty man. This is a film that leaves the audience wondering what the truth really is.
I've often debated with friends about the purpose of a documentary. Michael Moore, god bless him, is an obvious propogandist. Other documentarians are less overt in their biases, but in nearly every documentary there remains some residual bias from the director's point of view. I was extremely impressed with the complete ambivalence that the watcher is left with after this film is complete.
Even more powerful, for me at least, is watching a family self-destruct. The anger and resentment that leads to blindness was on the faces of several of the family members throughout. Even at the time of follow-up interviews, 14 years after the case had been resolved, there had not been a healing of the rifts created in the family. One son in particular was still blind to his father's sins while blaming his mother for nearly everything.
The Verdict: I've seen many disturbing documentaries, but I don't think I've ever had one affect me like this. Nor can I remember one that struck me as so "fly on the wall" without any effort to sway the viewer in one direction or the other... unless the director's intention was to leave everyone scratching their heads. If so, I say "bravo!" Well, I say "bravo" anyway. I have only one request - don't make me watch it again.
Year: 2003
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Writer: none (are you listening, Mr. Moore, WGA Best Original Screenplay Recipient?)
My Take: This documentary may be the most exclusive look into the dissolution of a family after a traumatic life experience. It seems odd to say that since this film is also an unrelenting exploration into the experiences of a pedophile. This is obviously not light entertainment. This is a film with a purpose and a message.
Mr. Friedman was an avid home movie buff shooting many family events. He passed this love on to his children and it turned out they were there to document the aftermath of his arrest for child pornography and sexually assaulting his students. His youngest son was also arrested. The film documents the case, the relationship between Mr. Friedman and his wife, he and his children, his wife and his children, and the three boys together. There is haunting imagery throughout.
What struck me as most amazing was that this was not Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, which essentially paints a picture of innocence for those convicted of the crime. Nor is this a film that documents the experiences of an obviously guilty man. This is a film that leaves the audience wondering what the truth really is.
I've often debated with friends about the purpose of a documentary. Michael Moore, god bless him, is an obvious propogandist. Other documentarians are less overt in their biases, but in nearly every documentary there remains some residual bias from the director's point of view. I was extremely impressed with the complete ambivalence that the watcher is left with after this film is complete.
Even more powerful, for me at least, is watching a family self-destruct. The anger and resentment that leads to blindness was on the faces of several of the family members throughout. Even at the time of follow-up interviews, 14 years after the case had been resolved, there had not been a healing of the rifts created in the family. One son in particular was still blind to his father's sins while blaming his mother for nearly everything.
The Verdict: I've seen many disturbing documentaries, but I don't think I've ever had one affect me like this. Nor can I remember one that struck me as so "fly on the wall" without any effort to sway the viewer in one direction or the other... unless the director's intention was to leave everyone scratching their heads. If so, I say "bravo!" Well, I say "bravo" anyway. I have only one request - don't make me watch it again.
posted by Hairy Lime at 3:21 PM
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