Capturing the Friedmans

A controversial documentary about the Friedman family, a seemingly typical, upper-class Jewish family living in Long Island, New York. Their very normal and somewhat happy world was turned upside down when the father and his youngest son were arrested and charged with some very shocking and disturbing crimes.

Originally, director Andrew Jarecki planned the movie to be a short film titled 'Just a clown' about clowns in New York. However, when he interviewed popular Long Islander clown David Friedman for the short, Jarecki stumbled upon a darker, yet more interesting story.

In 1987, US officials intercept a child pornographic magazine from the Netherlands destine for Arnold Friedman in Great Neck, Long Island. The police finds child porn in Arnold's possession.

Documentary film-makers are required to be somewhat voyeuristic in their attempts to capture the truth, but when first time film-maker Andrew Jarecki was working on a documentary on New York's number one clown 'Silly Billy' David Friedman, he stumbled upon a shocking story, and found that most of his work had already been done for him. Not to say that Capturing the Friedmans isn't a well-structured and well-made film - it certainly is - but what Jarecki stumbled upon was something so intimate that even the very best of film-makers could not have captured footage so startling and devastating.

The director did a fine job for giving us the raw emotion of child molester that even monsters can feel or having a family.I see a good point from the director that I can capture.

CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (3+ outta 5 stars)Excellent documentary which benefits from some amazing home video footage shot by the participants without any idea that it would ever be seen by anyone years later. Not to give too much away (the most compelling aspect of this feature is not knowing what is going to happen next) a quiet, normal-seeming suburban family has their foundation rocked when the father is accused of a series of sex crimes.

Unlike most of the IMDb voters and commentators, I found this movie dull, nasty and ultimately pointless. As readers and cinema-goers, we rejoice in literature because real life is unshaped lacks structure rarely carries power in its utterances does not provide insights.

I am still a bit shaken from the emotional roller-coaster ride that Capturing the Friedmans takes you on. Mostly I found the absence of a strong director "voice" or opinion so exciting.

"Does a firm persuasion that a thing is so, make it so?" - William Blake.