CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS
Released: June 13, 2003
"Capturing The Friedmans" is a documentary on the Friedmans family of Great Neck, NY. They appear to be a seemingly typical, upper-middleclass family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking crimes. The title of this feature relates to the inexplicable amount of self-made video footage they "caught" of themselves before and during the arrests. It would seem that the Friedmans were "captured" long before the law enforcement officers raided their average middle class looking home. While it can be agreed upon that the father, Arnold Friedman, had a vast collection of homosexual kiddie porn - worthy of arrest and detention from the get go - but it's the numurous charges of rape which alledgedly took place inside the Friedman home which is less than clear based on the so-called evidence. The director, Andrew Jarecki, could be slanting the viewpoint of the film in one direction but I found it to be rather unbiased myself. Once you get beyond the hideous nature of the charges, look closely at the way the police investigation transpired and decide for yourself how well it was carried out. Most shocking of all it seems is the casual nature to which the Friedmans volunteered to be self-videotaped almost 24 hours a day, even after their "capture" by the law. This isn't a documentary like "Bowling For Columbine" so finding any humor here will depend on the kind of person you are...
107 Minutes
HBO Documentary/Magnolia Films