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All Movie Info
Directed By
Andrew Jarecki, Andrew Jarecki
Cast:
Arnold Friedman, Elaine Friedman, David Friedman, Seth Friedman, Jesse Friedman, Howard Friedman
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Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
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Movie Review by Seth C 
October 21st, 2006
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People lie.
Children lie, adults lie and people lie.
That's life.
In Andrew Jarecki's documentary "Capturing The Friedmans," we see a family literally ripped apart through new interview footage and most importantly - and amazingly - old home videos from the Friedman family themselves. Why are they ripped apart? Because of what may or may not be, lies.
Arnold Friedman and his youngest son of three, Jessie, were both sent to jail in 1988 on over 240 single counts of sexual abuse involving children, which both men pleaded their innocence on. Were they innocent? After watching this documentary and seeing interviews with the family members, the detectives, the supposed victims and seeing the home movies being shot at the time of the investigation, I can't tell you what it is I believe.
One of the most remarkable things about this film is that through interviews, we see at least two of the Friedmans bold face lying to us. The first is David Friedman, the eldest of the three boys, who tells us in the beginning of the film that his father died of a heart attack five years earlier, however later on in the film we find that this is not the case. The second and most absurd lie within "Capturing The Friedmans" is shown through the home videos. On the way to the courthouse, Jessie looks right into the camera and says that he is innocent and never saw anything happen, nor did he know of anything happening and most importantly, he never did anything to any of the children in question. The very next shot is of inside the courtroom were Jessie is breaking down in front of the judge, saying he is guilty, which he only does in hopes that his sentence will be reduced.
Now I don't know if Jessie or Arnold Friedman committed these crimes, however I do know that "Capturing The Friedmans" is one of the most intriguing films I've seen in years. It's powerful; it's unforgettable and at times it's seems prolific. The film will make you question everything you're hearing or seeing that has to do with the Friedman case.
That's for sure. That I do know.
And quite confidently now, I also know that people lie.
- SCF / January 2004
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