DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER
Written & Directed by Kurt Kuenne
Released by Oscilloscope Pictures
USA. 95 min. Not Rated   
 

After his childhood friend Andrew Bagby is gunned down by a psychotic ex-girlfriend, filmmaker Kurt Kuenne  sets out to memorialize his life. Interviewing relatives and friends across the globe, Kuenne traces the promising life of his compassionate best friend, compiling the filmed memories of Andrew’s extended network into a cinematic letter, a portrait of a missing father to his son named Zachary. This idea, the pretext of the documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, turns out to only be the beginning. The first major twist: Andrew’s killer is the mother of his child.

The other significant twist, one that I will not reveal, jolts the film in a very different direction. Filmed over the course of several years and loaded to the brim with awesome portraits of human resolve and carefully detailed asides on everything from the weather in Newfoundland to Andrew’s amateur acting career, Dear Zachary is an emotional rollercoaster. Reality, in this case especially, really is stranger than fiction, steeped in complication that’s only partially explicit, and makes for one of the most fascinating stories put on screen in 2008.

Kuenne, making no claims at objectivity, allows Dear Zachary to become a clear struggle between good and evil. On one side: Shirley Turner, the scorned lover, a sexually inappropriate, oft-divorced, older woman who uses her squeaky voice and diminutive frame to cloak her intentions. On the other: David and Kathleen Bagby, Andrew’s parents, a long married, hardworking couple who fight tooth and nail for custody of their grandchild without playing dirty. (Having fled to Canada after the murder, Shirley escapes major jail time by posting bail and retains custody of Zachary). The black-and-whiteness of it all seems acceptable, thanks both to the depth with which Kuenne examines all of his subjects, especially remarkable given the film’s short 95-minute running time, and the unusual nature of the circumstances. The other villain is the Canadian government. Prepare to reexamine your thoughts on a country mocked here for being so benign.

If it weren’t for its underlying political cause and the clear cooperation of the Bagbys, one might take issue with this film for being exploitative. As with many documentaries, there’s something queasy about unexpected real-life tragedies being capitalizes upon for their dramatic merit.  But, thankfully, Kuenne pulls it off. By its end, Dear Zachary earns credit not only for impressively unfolding a story so unhinged, but for detailing one so everyday yet extraordinary: the selfless marching on of a marriage between two goodhearted people who want nothing more than to do what’s right for each other and those around them. Patrick Wood
November 26,, 2008