comment #1

Sabina E says ...

of course. People always love a good tear-jerker film. as long as it's not over the top.

comment #2

Edward Havens says ...

IIRC, Dear Zachary is not a dead child saga but a dead parent saga. The child's not even born yet when the tragic occurrence which drives the narrative happens.

comment #3

Kim Voynar says ...

It's also a dead-child film at the end, although Edelstein rather spoils that for people who haven't seen it and don't know what happens.

comment #4

arteye says ...

There's probably no human drama more engulfing and life-changing than a child's death. Our family finds it difficult to watch these "dead-child" movies because we have first-hand experience. Once you start filtering out "dead-child" titles the catalog of choices gets pretty thin.

comment #5

bmcintire says ...

Well, fuck. Not that there should be a spoiler dividing line between fiction and documentary, but that just sucks. The trailer tried its best to keep that little fact hidden, so my thanks to fucking crybaby David Edelstein for letting this particular cat out of the bag.

comment #6

Drew says ...

Jeff, take this item down, or rename it and add some MOTHERFUCKING SPOILER WARNINGS.

Jesus Christ, the arrogance of this... on your part and Edelstein's. Do you know how hard the filmmakers worked in the publicity materials and trailers to keep one particular narrative turn quiet? It's pretty much the cornerstone of their campaign. "What happens next, no one could believe..." And yet it's your headline, and it's Edelstein's key thesis to his rant.

You must truly hate your audience and/or this movie to sabotage it so thoroughly. Shame on you.

comment #7

Edward Havens says ...

Well, see... I didn't know the ending. I haven't seen the film yet. So there we are. Spoiled again.

comment #8

EricDSnider says ...

Agreed -- that's a terrible spoiler to throw out there. Edelstein shouldn't have done it, and Wells shouldn't have repeated it. The less you know about this film going in, the better.

comment #9

p.Vice says ...

Edelstein has long been a pussy but I'm surprised to see him wear it so openly on his sleeve. Let's hope by "broken" he means he'll never write another review again.

comment #10

crsryan says ...

If a filmmaker wants to pull the rug out from under us, I agree that as a critic its best to err on the side of not spoiling that, but this film is incredibly emotionally manipulative, and even moreso by setting itself up as something more straight-forward than it is. I'd like to see a documentary that scrutinized the makings of 'documentaries' like American Teen and Dear Zachary very closely.

comment #11

lonniechung says ...

It never bothered me until I became a father a few years ago. The first time it bit me was Syriana - and that one hurt. Not the death as much as the awkward kid trying to fit in. Either way, I've grown an unanticipated thin skin when it comes to kids in movies. Once you these become realistic fears, it puts the whole idea of art into perspective. I have real anxiety now that can only be stoked by a movie like Snow Angels (which I was impressed by, none the less), but I no longer need that experience; it is better left unknown. And come on you fucking crybabies - enough with the spoiler alert stuff. The comment was essential to the article, not a cat-out-of-the-bag non sequitor.

comment #12

lonniechung says ...

man i need an editor

comment #13

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Drew: I haven't yet seen Dear Zachary yet, so I didn't know it was a spoiler. Oh, well, cat's out of the bag now! Okay, I'll put a spoiler warning up.

comment #14

EricDSnider says ...

And come on you fucking crybabies - enough with the spoiler alert stuff. The comment was essential to the article, not a cat-out-of-the-bag non sequitor.

Yes, it was essential to the article -- and the article itself was a spoiler. If Edelstein wanted to focus on that particular element of the film, he should have started by warning the reader that he was going to have to spoil part of the movie in order to make his point. Talking about a huge twist in a movie's plot that occurs in the second half and that has intentionally been kept hidden is unfair to the viewer.

comment #15

bmcintire says ...

lonnie - How essential was Edelstein's crybaby article? Not at all. It served him in that he is able to flaunt the fact that he could talk (too much) about three films the general public by and large has not yet had an opportunity to see.

crsryan - Unless you've got documentation to back your claims up, I'm not buying it. The filmmaker set out to make one film, and time and fate turned it into something very much different. It may seem a bit manupulative to exploit this occurrence, but it was evidently no set-up on his part.

comment #16

Glenn Kenny says ...

I have nothing meaningful to say about the film, but would just like to throw my hat into the "David Edelstein is a pussy" ring, adding "hear, hear" and "you don't know the half of it."

comment #17

D.Z. says ...

"Folks, I can't take this anymore. I know children suffer and die in this cruel world; I know we can never be too vigilant on their behalf. But the number of movies [with this theme] is simply disproportionate."

Jeff should probably avoid Battle Royale.

comment #18

Erik Childress says ...

And David Edelstein joins Lou Lumenick in the running for this year's Bag O' Douche winner. Dear Zachary wasn't made in hopes of awards (which can't be said of some of those other titles.) It started as a memorial and became a fight against Canada's justice system. Incidentally, if the film isn't on the shortlist for Best Documentary in a few weeks, and then nominated and then WINS the award this year, then that committee has less credibility than the ratings board. Completely unprofessional to spoil the film like that. What a little turd Edelstein is.

comment #19

Howlingman says ...

Remember way back when critics would help keep secrets in film? The twists, the turns? Remember the veil of secrecy around THE CRYING GAME and THE SIXTH SENSE? Remember when critics were so surprised or shocked or moved by a film they did their best to keep the secret in the bag, so the movie going public could experience what they experienced in that darkened theater?

Whatever happened to those guys?

comment #20

Hallick says ...

"Whatever happened to those guys?"

They started competing with blogs and message boards and IMs and the like. They think the existence of the internet means there aren't any secrets anymore. Which is a fair assumption, save for the fact that one still needs the manners to preface their pieces with a warning for people who've managed to avoid the spoilers.

comment #21

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