In the 80's, in the upper-middle-class district of Great Neck, the awarded Professor Arnold Friedman is arrested for possession of some magazines of child pornography. A further investigation of the police discloses that apparently Arnold and his eighteen years old son Jesse molested his young students during their private computer class. Their Jewish family tears apart with the situation and the sentences of Arnold and Jesse.
"Capturing the Friedmans" deals with two very unpleasant themes, pedophilia and destruction of a family, and is a great documentary. The director Andrew Jarecki presents both sides of the contradictory story with a total exemption and neutrality. Arnold had filmed or photographed the major events of his family since he had been dating Elaine. In the 80's, camcorders were very popular and the Friedman's sons followed the costume of their father, recording their meetings and discussions. Andrew Jarecki discloses the privacy of the Friedmans and shows many ambiguous situations through the footages of their homemade videos and interviews. The viewers can witness the process of an apparently normal family being completely shattered. In the end, we see manipulation, ambiguity, contradiction in the case, but never the truth. Therefore it is impossible to judge and have opinion if Arnold and Jesse Friedman were guilty or not. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Na Captura dos Friedmans" ("Capturing the Friedmans")
"Capturing the Friedmans" deals with two very unpleasant themes, pedophilia and destruction of a family, and is a great documentary. The director Andrew Jarecki presents both sides of the contradictory story with a total exemption and neutrality. Arnold had filmed or photographed the major events of his family since he had been dating Elaine. In the 80's, camcorders were very popular and the Friedman's sons followed the costume of their father, recording their meetings and discussions. Andrew Jarecki discloses the privacy of the Friedmans and shows many ambiguous situations through the footages of their homemade videos and interviews. The viewers can witness the process of an apparently normal family being completely shattered. In the end, we see manipulation, ambiguity, contradiction in the case, but never the truth. Therefore it is impossible to judge and have opinion if Arnold and Jesse Friedman were guilty or not. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Na Captura dos Friedmans" ("Capturing the Friedmans")