Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

KellenKing One of the best documentaries I have ever seen. If I could recommend 5 documentaries to someone, this would be on that list without a doubt. Emotional story that was very well produced. Loved it!

colin Bradley This Documentary ranks in the top 3 documentaries of all time next to 'Thin Blue Line' and 'Man on Wire'. Some people may dispute my top 3 list, however I will argue why I think that Dear Zachary is better than the other two. Thin Blue Line was notable for exonerating a man from a wrongful conviction. Man on Wire is a real life heist movie with an incredible story about the World Trade Towers in New York.Dear Zachary encompasses two themes that mirror the aforementioned and combine into a greater narrative: the story of an evil murderous woman who was never properly convicted and a story of several terrible crimes that went unpunished and lead to the exposure of major dysfunction in the Canadian justice/legal system. This documentary is not for the weak of heart but for those interested in the film aspects, it is evident that the filmmaker has made a painstaking effort to assemble footage in a way that hurt his very soul to share with you. A more honest documentary has never been made.

chipbridges While the storyline was fascinating, the slick MTV-style editing and constant cuts were difficult to watch. This started out as a tribute to Kurt Kuenne's fallen friend slain by a crazy lover, but ended as a jumbled mess. The look into Canada's justice system was disturbing and riveting, and the parents of the victim were amazing people that you simply had to root for. The story was excellent, and the filmmaker had much of the young man's life already on film. It was the execution of it that I had a problem with. There are stretches throughout the film where no clip is even a second long. One person's sentence is spliced into another's and so on, at such a pace that it's almost nauseating. Kurt himself also spoke with the speed of an auctioneer, which I found very distracting. It's a shame, because this documentary had the potential to be great.

Rob Starzec Dear Zachary attempts to reach the son of Andrew Bagby, a man who was murdered by his lover, Shirley, the woman who was pregnant with his son. The footage portraying Andrew Bagby proves to show how he was a man with a big heart and touched many of his friends' lives. Andrew probably had more friends in his adulthood than the average prom king would have had during his high school years.The events in this film are true as it is a documentary. The various interviews touch on Bagby's life, his death, what the interviewees want to say to his son and how the legal system needs to be reformed. Thus, as many documentaries do, this one touches on a wide variety of topics and themes while it tries to remain focused on one story as a whole. The problem is that a real story has many parts, many angles, many side stories that it needs to be represented differently than a fictional film. It is difficult to structure facts and interviews into a cohesive story with a three act structure. Details are thrown at you to digest, and some documentaries are less clear in their point than others. The documentary focusing on the Bagby's, however, keeps the viewer intrigued and leaves them heartbroken at points with tragic events (other than the death of Andrew).There is a clear "first act" with this film as it begins by detailing Andrew's death and how he touched others, but the second and third "acts" seem to blend together. It is unclear what the climax of this documentary was supposed to be as there are at least 2 or 3 moments of high interest which seem to bring different points across, but they are important points not matter how different they are. This documentary explores the true nature of love versus evil in interesting ways and should be viewed by people who are looking for a good cause to fight for.3.0/4.0