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Fantastic. This is just a really good movie. It's a documentary, but the effect is something like watching the Japanese drama Rashomon, where an event is described by the various participants, and each one has a differing recollection. We expect documentaries to come to a conclusion, to press a point, to have an agenda. This film is remarkable partly because the makers are brave enough to admit they don't have a precise answer regarding what may or may not have taken place. They give us information from all the main players to allow us to build up a mosaic picture involving allegations of child abuse and incest. But just as we think we've got a handle on things, the pattern shifts and we realise we've got a kaleidoscope image that's rearranging itself. Who's telling the truth? Who's lying? The family at the centre of the allegations happen to be home-movie buffs. They constantly documented themselves, first on Super 8, later on video. So we have a fascinating insight into how they lived their lives - at least when the red light was on. This is a very moving film. The 25th Hour (Spike Lee) was an attempt to artistically portray what a man may go through as he contemplates incarceration. Here, we have the real thing. Nobody goes on a drink and drugs bender. A typical family is torn asunder. So sad. So human.
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