2004-07-28

The G-man bought this DVD from the used DVD bin at our local video store a couple of months ago, but it sat around unwatched because I just never seemed to be in the mood for it. Let's face it, a documentary about a family ripped apart by accusations of child molestation doesn't exactly sound like uplifting viewing. I don't need all my movies to be sweetness and light, but this one seemed like it would be an inordinate amount of heavy lifting.

I ended up watching it one night about a month ago because the G-man was away, I was bored, and I didn't want to drive to the video store. I thought, oh what the hell. I'll just watch the first 10 minutes and see how it is.

Well, I ended up watching the entire thing through twice, back to back--once without the commentary and once with. I was RIVETED. When I talked to G the next day, I said, "When you come back home, you HAVE to watch this movie. It's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen."

Capturing the Friedmans is about so many things: the mutable nature of memory; trust and betrayal; pedophilia; questionable police practices; the fallibility of the American (North American?) justice system.

This movie is such a strange creature: yes, it's about allegations of pedophilia, which is in no way a humorous topic, but in spite of this, I have to say I did laugh out loud a few times. I also cried at the end of the movie--both times I watched it.

The genesis of the movie was actually a short film that Andrew Jarecki was making about children's entertainers in New York City. One of the clowns in particular, David Friedman, captured the filmmaker's attention, and after a bit of probing, Jarecki found out that Friedman's family had been torn apart in the 1980s by accusations that his father and brother had molested a large number of boys in their Great Neck, Long Island, home. Quckly, Jarecki realized that this story could be its own movie, and he switched the focus to the Friedman family.

One of the most amazing things about this movie is that the Friedmans documented so much of their lives on Super8, video, and audiotape. There is an unbelievable amount of archival footage of the family at various times in their lives, and it really lends the film a you-are-there quality that both fascinates and unsettles. As a viewer, you are put in the odd situation of being hyperaware of your status as a voyeur.

I found Capturing the Friedmans to be fascinating, thought-provoking, and frustrating. Most of all, however, the movie is simply heartbreaking. It's awful to watch a family be torn apart, and although Jesse's father, Arnold, is an admitted pedophile and child molester, it seemed quite clear to me that Jesse Friedman was neither. This is a movie that will make you think, will at points disgust you, but will ultimately stay with you for a long time.

DVD Extras: There are lots of extras here, and they are all fascinating and worth watching, in my opinion. The director's commentary and the footage from the audience Q and A sessions at some of the first screenings are both especially good.

Posted by polarcanuck at 9:47 p.m.

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