Capturing the Friedmans (2003)

This has got to be in the top 10 list of any documentary lover.

Somewhat interesting.

at the end i was still wondering if he had actuly done it

lot duller than i expected it to be

A fascinating study, this documentary is crafted in such a way that the 'facts' about this particular case unfold tantalisingly and sometimes in strong contradiction to one another. Interviews with family members, victims, lawyers and others (both at the time the alleged offences occurred and many years later) are mixed with home video footage taken (somewhat obsessively?) by family members. Disturbing and provocative, this film leaves you at the end with as many questions as answers - not only about this particular case but also about about the very nature of family and community. In a time when the falsity of 'reality' TV can leave us jaded, this documentary is a disturbing glimpse into the reality of one particular family - its function and dysfunction, its strengths and lack of resilience, its secrets, folly, and fragility.

Abandoned it after about 10 minutes. It seemed to be a doco about a paedophile. Not our bit.

Interesting perhaps, but not high on entertainment.

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A challenging and gripping doco about the most unpleasant of subjects. Against the backdrop of early 80s American suburbia, you watch first-hand through home movie footage as the Friedman family disintegrates after the father Arnold and one of his sons is charged with molesting children. Without leading its viewers to a quick or easy judgement, this film is a unique and provocative insight into a family's experience and the American justice system.

Great doco!! Did the do it, or didn't they .... if you can answer that question you are doing pretty well.

Every second of this documentary is a totally engrossing emotional experience because of the subject matter and degree of voyeurism permitted by the subjects themselves. Ultimately a fascinating and tragic peep into the life of a family destroyed by sexual dysfunction and the dysfunction of the legal system which governs over them. One of the best docos I've ever seen.

If you're a doco fan, don't miss this intriguing tale of paedophilia vs mass hysteria. A uniquely personal insight into a family's dilemna which leaves you debating the truth to the end.

Great doco - really engrossing

A very powerful documentary and a must watch for anyone with children. I truly felt sorry for Jesse who went to jail and even though disgusted by the father's past, I believe he was innocent. I cried but I have hope in the human spirit because Jesse came out after 13 yrs in jail as optimistic as when he went in.