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Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:143
Fresh:139
Rotten:4
Average Rating:8.4/10
Consensus: A haunting depiction of a disintegrating family, and a powerful argument on the elusiveness of truth.
Theatrical Release:May 30, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $2,794,120
Synopsis: Watching Andrew Jarecki's riveting non-fiction drama is like watching a slow-motion replay of a multi-car pileup; you know it's headed for disaster, but there's no way you can stop watching. On the... Watching Andrew Jarecki's riveting non-fiction drama is like watching a slow-motion replay of a multi-car pileup; you know it's headed for disaster, but there's no way you can stop watching. On the surface, the Friedmans were a typical 1980s American family. Living in Great Neck, Long Island, Arnold was a well-respected teacher, Elaine was a dedicated mother, and their children Seth, Jesse, and David were model students. But one Thanksgiving, that happy façade came to a crashing halt. After the local police discovered Arnold had engaged in the buying and selling of child pornography, they questioned several students who attended his computer classes in the Friedman basement. What they revealed would shock the community, and destroy the Friedman family forever. The subsequent investigation and trial uncovered even deeper hidden secrets at an alarming rate, creating a rift between Arnold and Elaine that would never be reconciled. Jarecki uses present day interviews with Elaine, Jesse, and David, as well as Arnold's brother Howard, to provide some sort of insight on the situation, but it backfires, for everyone has a different story to tell. And then there is actual home video footage of the family in the midst of the hurricane, which gives the film an eerie, voyeuristic charge. [More]
Starring: Arnold Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman, Seth Friedman
Starring: Arnold Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman, Seth Friedman, Jesse Friedman, Howard Friedman
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Producer: Andrew Jarecki, Marc Smerling
Composer: Andrea Morricone
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
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Reviews for Capturing the Friedmans
Probing into the elusive nature of truth, through the prism of one Jewish family, this is one of the most perplexing and disturbing docus in American film history
...an insane document, a slice of life that we probably should never have seen. But now that we have seen it, it's too late to deny its crippling poignancy...
Much of this information could have been delivered in a way that respected the Friedmans, even if they did not respect each other.
Grown men and women, in broad daylight and friendly company, would not lightly name some of the worst terrors of our world.
A different kind of horror is portrayed in Capturing the Friedmans -- the disintegration of a family after the father secret life is exposed.
Director Jarecki takes his time in presenting the divergent points of view. But even at nearly two hours, one still feels there is a lack of information.
inspires in the viewer something which was conspicuously absent from the original trial - reasonable doubt.
Latest News for Capturing the Friedmans
July 26, 2006:
Magnolia Digs Into the Crayon Box
You probably know Magnolia Pictures as the distributor of foreign/arthouse fare like "District B13," "Bubble," and "Capturing the Friedmans" -- but... More...
September 10, 2003:
Andrew Jarecki's first go is golden. ![]()
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| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
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