Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son from His Father (2008)

Directed by: Kurt Keunne

****

Life isn't fair. If I got anything out of this film its the fact that bad things happen to good people and they can keep happening to good people no matter what anyone does to prevent it. This very true, very moving and very tragic documentary essentially tells three stories, that of the life of Andrew Bagby, the life of Zachary Turner and the life of Kate and David Bagby all of whom are tragically effected by a woman named Shirley Turner.

The film's power comes a lot from the way it is compiled so for the sake of preserving that power, I'll skip the synopsis and go straight to how this film effected me. Something I recognized and appreciated throughout was the effect photography, motion or otherwise, can have on me. In a movie like JFK, I'm exposed to the Zapruder film repeatedly and at first its just part of the movie but at second glance I realize I'm watching something happen through the eyes of someone who saw it live. In Dear Zachary, I'm exposed to footage of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner to really brings them to life in my eyes. That juxtiposed with interviews from their friends and family really put me in their position and allowed me to relate with the feelings they had towards Shirley Turner and the emotions they were forced to endure.

The title of the film is a bit misleading as the film itself results in a film that is for Kate and David rather than for Zachary. That is mostly irrelevant because for a period, the film was for Zachary but it became very appropriate to make an adjustment for Kate and David. Giving this film to the very deserving (of anything good, ever, for the rest of their lives) did, however, make the end of the film's agenda...a film that until that point had very appropriately been without an agenda...rather unnecessary. It was important for me or anyone to see this movie and to understand again, that bad things can happen to good people and continue to happen to good people and that those people can continue to be good. It wasn't important for me to get the cliffnotes of David's book and Kate and David's new mission in life. I felt that having been exposed to that, followed by the information on how I could support their cause at the end of the movie strayed from what the film was doing. By telling the story or Andrew, Zachary, Kate and David, the film touched me... how could it not? But it had no agenda, it was simply a letter to a Son from his Father or a letter to Kate and David from people who love them. It was a lot of things. What it wasn't, until the end that is, was a movie that told me what to think.

That aside, I can't discredit this movie from have ten lesser minutes towards the end. Its powerful, heartbreaking, tragic and one of the truest emotional tales I've ever seen captured on film. It should be watched because agendas aside, its important and it gives an underlying message that despite all the bad in the world, there will always be good people for it to happen to. As depressing as that sounds, it actually a compliment to Kate and David and people like them.