Country:
USA
Recognizable Faces:
The ill-fated Bagby family
Directed By:
Kurt Kuenne
Dear Zachary is not a documentary as much as it is a cinematographic essay. It's a film of opinion about the awful streak of events that hit Andrew Bagby, a gentle soul who shared nothing but love during his shortened time on Earth. Don't expect it to have any kind of objectivity, but I believe that certain documentaries are allowed that. If the facts speak for themselves and the situation needs to be exposed, taking sides is the only way to make a statement that is loud enough. Andrew Bagby was murdered for no valid reason. He got shot multiple times and left on a parking lot because he scrambled to find balance and happiness in his life. The filmmaker Kurt Kuenne was one of Bagby's best friends and Dear Zachary is his tormented send-off.
Andrew Bagby was a decent guy. He wasn't very good looking, but he had the charisma of a few and a gift for earning people's trust. He was the kind of guy you wanted as a best man for your wedding (by the way, there's a lot of wedding footage of Andrew, because he was a best man of choice). A bad breakup in the pursuit of his dream (being a doctor) lead him to Newfoundland, Canada and into the arms of Shirley Turner, man eater and professional psycho. She was twelve years his elder and freaked a lot of people out, whenever Andrew brought her to a wedding or a social gathering of some sort. Something was clearly off with her, but when your self-esteem is down at the bottom of your shoes, you don't see that. So Andrew persevered through this doomed relationship and things got really hairy when he moved out of Newfoundland to do his internships. So he got himself killed. By Shirley.
Not that is was every proved in court, but Shirley Turner was a very dangerous, volatile individual and all signs pointed to her. The man lived in a peaceful world before she arrived. But here's the kicker. Turner gets arrested and charged of the murder but, uh-oh...she's four months pregnant of Bagby's son. Being a wicked manipulator and all, she played that card in court and walked on bail. Andrew's parents, David and Kathleen fought this stupid decision from the Canadian judiciary system, got her locked up again and gained the custody of Zachary when he was born. But that was only the beginning of the second act of their nightmare. Shirley Turner wrote to the very judge that put her in jail to complain and received in answer, a detail explanation of how to make an appeal. She did and a judge granted her freedom, again. And full custody of her kid, stating that she saw no immediate threats to the population in her. Yeah, she was an accused murderer with a history of going mental on her boyfriends. But that judge didn't bother to check anything.
At the end of 2011, I should conduct an award for the most depressing documentaries that makes you lose faith in humanity. Dear Zachary might just be the great winner of this ceremony to happen. The Canadian judiciary system (MY judiciary system) has blundered BIG TIME with the Bagby family. Ultimately, Shirley Turner is the culprit behind all this violence, but laziness and half-assed work have put this family in greater risk and exposed them to an unbelievable amount of stress. David and Kathleen Bagby are the true heroes in this story, even if they are the victims. They kept fighting through the unbelievable injustices that were perpetrated on them and even through the pain and the loss, they still stand proud. It's going to tear your poor little viewer heart out, but their struggle cannot be forgotten. Dear Zachary is a tremendous example of why blind faith in institution can be fatal. Watch it at your own risk. It's hard, but I can't see how it can disappoint you.
SCORE: 85%
Not that is was every proved in court, but Shirley Turner was a very dangerous, volatile individual and all signs pointed to her. The man lived in a peaceful world before she arrived. But here's the kicker. Turner gets arrested and charged of the murder but, uh-oh...she's four months pregnant of Bagby's son. Being a wicked manipulator and all, she played that card in court and walked on bail. Andrew's parents, David and Kathleen fought this stupid decision from the Canadian judiciary system, got her locked up again and gained the custody of Zachary when he was born. But that was only the beginning of the second act of their nightmare. Shirley Turner wrote to the very judge that put her in jail to complain and received in answer, a detail explanation of how to make an appeal. She did and a judge granted her freedom, again. And full custody of her kid, stating that she saw no immediate threats to the population in her. Yeah, she was an accused murderer with a history of going mental on her boyfriends. But that judge didn't bother to check anything.
At the end of 2011, I should conduct an award for the most depressing documentaries that makes you lose faith in humanity. Dear Zachary might just be the great winner of this ceremony to happen. The Canadian judiciary system (MY judiciary system) has blundered BIG TIME with the Bagby family. Ultimately, Shirley Turner is the culprit behind all this violence, but laziness and half-assed work have put this family in greater risk and exposed them to an unbelievable amount of stress. David and Kathleen Bagby are the true heroes in this story, even if they are the victims. They kept fighting through the unbelievable injustices that were perpetrated on them and even through the pain and the loss, they still stand proud. It's going to tear your poor little viewer heart out, but their struggle cannot be forgotten. Dear Zachary is a tremendous example of why blind faith in institution can be fatal. Watch it at your own risk. It's hard, but I can't see how it can disappoint you.
SCORE: 85%