03 March 2009

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Whoa! Call me sentimental but this movie is like little I've seen before. It reminded me of Capturing the Friedmans in its intensity but where that film shows you the dark, this one is more on the light. A young filmmaker learns that his close friend Andrew has been murdered by his psychotic ex-girlfriend. He wants to show the ripples that his friend has left behind and goes about capturing as many of the memories of the people that he knew before the memories fade. When it is discovered that the murderer, in Canada facing a lengthy extradition process, is pregnant with Andrew's son, the film takes on new poignancy, particularly as Andrew's parents head up to Newfoundland to be a part of the child's life. The movie is moving throughout and rarely does it seem cloying. It's also quite raw and intermittently shocking. I'm not sure it's like anything I've ever seen before. A powerful documentary. I loved it.

I strongly recommend it to everyone. A

3 comments:

  1. Few films have given me such a sense of nausea (y'know, in a good way) as this one.

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  2. Kurt Kuenne presented his perspective and it shows how the person (Andrew) lives on, his loss was not for none.

    I am planning a relay across Canada and hope to meet the Bagby's when we get to St. John's Newfoundland in August 2010. It will be an honor. They are activists who show us how it is done.

    http://grasshoppermedia.blogspot.com

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  3. Oh, you should look up 'The Hour of Our Time ~ The Legacy of William Cooper' Great man!

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