New on DVD Feb 24 2009 @ 12:00 pm
REVIEW: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
Directed By: Kurt Kuenne
Written By: Kurt Kuenne
Running Time: 93 minutes
Not Rated
You have never seen a film like Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, I can promise you that. You may have thought about a film this before in terms of “what if” or “if only”, but you have never seen something like this completely realized. For this reason, you should stay away from much information about the film because it is so filled with utterly heart-wrenching twists and turns that to read even the most menial summary before sitting down to watch it would be an injustice to the experience.
See this movie. It may not always be pleasant, but you will not regret it.
Dr. Andrew Bagby
On November 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby was shot five times in a western Pennsylvania parking lot. The prime suspect for the murder was his ex-girlfriend Dr. Shirley Turner. After the crime, Turner immediately abandoned the scene for her home in Canada where she eventually announced that she was pregnant with Andrew Bagby’s son – a boy she would name Zachary.
Dear Zachary is made by one of Andrew Bagby’s oldest and closest friends, documentary filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, as a visual letter to little Zachary. “[The movie] is not just my search for what was left of your dad,” Keunne says, “but it might be the only way you could one day go back in time, see, and get to know him.
A film like this could only be made out of love and the amount of interviews that Keune has gathered is astonishing. As he compiles information in his travels, we get to see the mounting number of MiniDV tapes shot over five years of searching. Spliced into these interviews is a lifetime of photos and VHS home movies along with beautiful, grainy 16mm footage. Some may criticize the non-professional quality of the interview footage, but these critics completely miss the purpose of the film.
Dear Zachary is not made for art’s sake. It has not been made to win awards (which it surely will) or to be placed on your DVD shelf next to the best works of the Maysles or Errol Morris. Something tells me that Kurt Kuenne would feel just as accomplished if the only person to ever see the film was Zachary himself. Lucky for us, we get to see it too.
Dr. Shirley Turner
Because Dear Zachary is a film made in the midst of an event and not afterward, it takes a surprising turn when Dr. Shirley Turner is released on bail in Canada and given custody of Zachary while awaiting extradition to the United States. From then on, it is the story of Zachary’s grandparents, David & Kathleen Bagby, and their anguished efforts to snatch Zachary from the hands of the woman who killed their son.
The emotional punches of the subject matter work hand-in-hand with plenty of stylistic flourishes. Though the form of the documentary is the standard weaving of many threads to form a whole story, the frenetic pacing sets Dear Zachary apart from plenty of its documentary counterparts. Many moments in the film are likely to make audiences scream from information overload, but that is the point. It can make one feel crazy – and this is where empathy for the people in this story begins.
Kurt Kuenne (left) and Andrew Bagby (right) as kids
When Kuenne begins speaking to little Zachary via narration about his father while showing images of the deceased, I was reminded of the last moments of Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso when the grown-up filmmaker returns to the movie studio from his Italian hometown with a film canister from his mentor in tow. All those memories spliced together into one complete and powerful whole experience. The ending of Cinema Paradiso can make even the strongest person cry, but Dear Zachary has even more power.
When all the information about Andrew Bagby’s murder and the trial that ensued is revealed, the film changes from a passionate memoir to a cry for justice. Although bail reform is the primary concern, Dear Zachary sparks thoughts about how a legal system can be so concerned with semantics and fancy words that they fail to realize the humanity of people who have been wronged. There is no consideration of how the Bagby family must feel while having to share baby Zachary with his mother – the known murderer of his father.
Where is justice? Where is the law? Where is God? There have been no answers for the Bagbys, so they are now doing the only thing that gives them peace: starting a crusade for Canadian bail reform so that other people may experience the justice they were denied. It is nothing less than breathtaking how benevolence and grace can work to replace anger and part the clouds of utter darkness.
A few evenings ago, some close friends of mine were in a car accident. There was no major tragedy, but in the moments I spent in the emergency room waiting for news, everything but that moment seemed to disappear. It didn’t matter who won the recent Presidential election or what I thought of the movie I just saw; my focus was on them, their families, and their future.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is so visceral and emotionally exhausting that it had this same effect on me. Accolades are sure to be spent on the film – words like “staggering”, “breathtaking,” or “phenomenal” – and all of them would be true, but in many ways they are all sorely inadequate. Kurt Kuenne’s film is not only the truest of all “home movies” coupled with a rallying cry for civil justice, but it is one of the strongest signs of friendship and love that cinema has ever seen or will see in the future. It is a landmark film that I will never, ever forget.
on Nov 21 2008 @ 2:56 pm 1. Sam Juliano said …
Ver nice work here Phillip, and (as you know) a film I completely agree with you on, having just awarded the film five stars myself this past week in my own review.
Sadly, I am not sure what awards it will win, as it recently was shipped over for Oscar consideration, but look for it to appear on many ten-best lists.
You do a wonderful job presenting the specifics, as well as conveying you own heartfelt reactions.
This ois one of the truly great documentaries of recent years, and for me a sizzling contender for the #1 of my year-end ten best list with a select few others.
But it’s the the year’s best and most powerful doc for sure.
on Nov 22 2008 @ 4:14 pm 2. Sam Juliano said …
What is going on here at Movie Zeal??
Where are the comments for Phillip’s great review and this extraodinarily moving film?
on Nov 22 2008 @ 11:38 pm 3. Luke Harrington said …
Well Sam, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was going to wait until I’d viewed the film to read this review…as per Phillip’s instructions in the first paragraph there.
on Nov 24 2008 @ 9:55 am 4. Kristena said …
Two weeks later, it still exhausts me to think about this film. Thanks for reviewing it; I’m sure it wasn’t easy. I would have had trouble seeing the screen for my angry tears.
I do think the film should come with a caveat because it was very much like a punch in the gut and then led to many-a-nightmare.
on Nov 25 2008 @ 9:37 am 5. Evan Derrick said …
Thank you for the wonderful piece, Phillip. After I had seen it, I was secretly relieved that you had taken it on, because I felt intimidated about doing it justice.
It’s an incredible, moving film, truly one of the “strongest signs of friendship and love” that I have ever seen on the screen.
on Dec 04 2008 @ 6:32 pm 6. Joseph said …
Great review, Phillip.
Just watched this afternoon; what a powerful film. I haven’t seen a film that has affected me on an emotional level of this magnitude in a long time.
on Dec 04 2008 @ 9:01 pm 7. Phillip Johnston said …
Thanks, Joseph. I knew you’d be wrecked by this one.
And Evan, I sure hope I did it justice. The more I think about it the more harrowing it gets.
on Dec 08 2008 @ 4:18 am 8. Thadd Harrington said …
Don’t worry, Phillip, you did it justice.
I just finished watching it, it’s already on broadcast television. I started reading this review, but after the first paragraph I figured, ‘Ok, whatever. I’m out of here.’ Then I saw in on the TV Guide list and I thought, ‘Huh, I’d like to see what it’s about.’ I can’t even describe the experience. About three quarters of the way through I wanted to quit watching, but I made myself keep going. I felt as if Kuenne was daring me to look away. Thank you for the review, but especially for the first paragraph, and the recommendation to not read the review before watching the movie.
on Dec 08 2008 @ 8:45 pm 9. Dominique Burgos said …
i would just like
to say i saw the documenary
and it hit me hard
im really not that old
but it waz the only thing that
made me cry after
hearing the worrible things
that witch did
to ur family
i really
hope u guys are reading this because
its all from the heart
i dint even know andrew or zachary but
i’d would just like to say
they both sounded and looked like great people
and zachary’s lfe ended to quickly and andrew’s also
please believe me my heart goes out to all of
you and ur family
and one more thing thanks
for not giving up hope.
-dominique burgos
(p.s you can email me any
time)
on Dec 11 2008 @ 11:29 am 10. Rick Olson said …
Sam, like Luke, I wanted to wait until I’d seen this film. Now that I have, I can appreciate Phillip’s fine review.
on Dec 11 2008 @ 1:07 pm 11. Lisa said …
I saw this film and I was so incredibly touched. I’m sorry that justice was not served and that Andrew & Zachary never knew each other.
Kurt did an outstanding job putting this piece together.
AMAZING!!!
on Dec 11 2008 @ 2:01 pm 12. Phillip Johnston said …
I’m glad you all took the time to watch it. The film is so hard to get through, but there’s nothing quite like it. I’d be interested to see the TV version.
on Dec 15 2008 @ 10:39 am 13. marv said …
i hope that judge has many sleepless nights…
on Mar 27 2009 @ 5:35 pm 14. Paul Maher said …
I saw this film in the states in 2008 and I have still not stoped talking about it to my friends.Thats how much I was touched by the horror that was Shirley Turner and the love that was the Bagby Family.My thoughts and prayers are still with you Zachary,Andrew and your Nanny and Grand dad.Because of this film none of you will ever be forgotten.
on Jan 01 2010 @ 9:58 am 15. AIDA POMALES said …
THIS IS BY FAR THE BESTDOCUMENTARY I HAVE SEEN. I COULD BLINK AN EYE. MY HEART WAS ABOUT TO EXPLOTE OF EMOTIONS…I LOVE,,, ALTHOUGH I WAS SO ANGRY AT THE CANADIAN COURT….GOD BLESS,,,,AIDA FLORIDA
on Jan 01 2010 @ 10:00 am 16. AIDA POMALES said …
THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST DOCUMENTARY I HAVE SEEN. I COULD NOT BLINK AN EYE. MY HEART WAS ABOUT TO EXPLODE OF EMOTIONS…I LOVE IT,,, ALTHOUGH I WAS SO ANGRY AT THE CANADIAN COURT….GOD BLESS,,,,AIDA FLORIDA
on Feb 28 2010 @ 7:26 pm 17. Aldith Mesquitta said …
I am today, Monday 1st March 2010 watching this programme about Andrew, Zachary and his amazing parents from the UK.
The devestation I feel for this family is immense. Poor little Zachary was not protected by the authorities and Shirley Turner allowed to kill again. To lose their dear son Andrew was hard enough but what a true blessing to have Zachary – an absolute miracle. To have parents like Mr. and Mrs. Bagley is a true blessing also.
I honour Andrew a lovely man, friend and son; I honour Zachary a darling little boy with so much promise and I truly honour Kate and David for staying amazing with all the sadness they had to endure. I also truly honour Kurt for bringing this story to my attention.
Forgive me for calling you Kate and David as I do not know you but will never ever forget you and how lovely, brave and perfect you both are. May the rest of your lives be filled with happiness and love, which I know you will get readily from so many people.
With loving regardes to you both.