Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

It's been about 4 years since I first watched this documentary, and I can honestly say that it still haunts me to this day. The unfolding of this story is so impactful. So raw. So heartbreaking.

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT look up anything about this case before or during your watch.

Paradise Lost has always been my favorite documentary series of all time. But this one is either tied for first or a very, very close second.

This is a truly devastating documentary all around, but their story is so incredibly important for the world to know. I promise, this documentary and story will stick with you for the rest of your life.

I have never wrote a review before but if any film deserves one, it is Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father.

My mom and I are avid documentary watchers and we stumbled upon this doc when was on Netflix around 2013. We knew nothing going into it. But we were immediately transfixed. For a solid hour and a half we watched through laughter, through streaming tears, through the most abject, repugnant horror, and through the love that radiates from every person in this film.

Directed by Kurt Kuane, Andrew Bagby's best friend, he turned unspeakable tragedy into a story of love, justice, and a call for activism for bail reform, exposing the multiple failures of the justice system. Kurt also did an amazing job composing this film because by the end, you feel like you knew Andrew. You can feel the immense love and grief at the loss of his life and the impact it had, an impact that rippled like a tidal wave across the world by all those that love him. And to me, more than anything, you get to know Andrew's parents, David and Kate Bagby. There are not any words to describe those two beautiful, strong, resilient, dedicated, loving, angels-on-earth type of human beings they are. My heart aches and breaks for them. For all the horror that is documentary shows, there is a resounding notion of overwhelming love. For the violent, brutal, sickening, unthinkable, unspeakable atrocity these beautiful people have been through... I admire them from the bottom of my heart.

This documentary will rip your heart into pieces, ignite a burning fire of hatred in your soul... but it's worth every moment to "get to know" these beautiful people and the resilience that true love can sustain.

If you want more information after watching this, David Bagby write an incredible and just as heart breaking book called Dancing With The Devil that gives an in-depth, first hand account of what Kate and him endured moment by moment.

I would give this a hundred stars if I could.

I hope you've found any type of the slightest bit of peace and solace over the years. My thoughts are never far from you...

Always, A fellow human being

It started out as a remembrance for a son about his father and it became so much more.

I saw this film Sunday and it still resides in my heart and haunts me. This is the first documentary I have ever seen that has drawn me in completely, and made me feel as though I am part of the story and a friend to the victim. It was a roller-coaster of emotions and there were quite a few teary-eyed people by the end. I feel I had to give it a proper review, but like many have stated, it's hard to do so without ruining the effect the filmmaker intends. This story pulls you along and unfolds as it does for our narrator, the filmmaker, Kurt Kunne. His story is personal because he grew up with the central figure, Dr. Andrew Bagby.

Andrew's parents, David and Kate, whom I had a chance to meet with after the screening, are lovely people, and I instantly saw why they foster so much love and support throughout the film: They are genuinely kind people who give off a wonderful parental-vibe. They show so much love and hope in the face of almost insurmountable evil. You hold onto their love and hope through the last few minutes, and eventually you find what the narrator finds: inspiration.

The editing and the directing reveal a truly gifted filmmaker, Mr. Kunne, a superb storyteller, bounces back and forth between past and present events. He reveals what happens at several key points which leads us an ending you should rather just see than have me explain.

From what I've read there were several richly deserved standing ovations as the film ventured into the festival circuit. If you have a chance to see, "Dear Zachary," this film will be playing until Thursday of this week at the arc-light cinemas in Hollywood. The filmmaker, Kurt, said the film will be making a return to Hollywood in early November and shall be coming to New York City in late October, MSNBC will be premiering the film December 7th and the DVD shall go on sale some time in mid-FEBRUARY.

I suggest everyone pays their money to see this film for the sake of advocacy groups and to support bail reform in Canada. Although the legal system in Canada is put on trial in this documentary, it reveals a real problem with our own justice system here in the United States, and how some criminals are given preferential treatment over victims and their families' rights.

I cannot tell you how much this film has affected me. How truly inspirational I find David Bagby and Kate Bagby to be…

Please support Academy caliber documentaries, with a strong sense of heart, and a great message of hope. This is a wonderful, albeit tragic and yet inspiring film.

The subject matter of this documentary is overwhelming. The facts are harsh and unforgiving. The devil is real.

Wow, I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this overwhelming. It's the emotional equivalent of having your head kicked in against the curb.

I thought I knew where the story was going but I couldn't shake the sense of sinister dread. I didn't think the story could get any bleaker but then... Maybe I'm doing it a disservice but I would strongly recommend this film to anyone who isn't in an already too fragile state. Because once you invest your own emotions in the story, you are screwed - within minutes I went from sad to angry to shocked and depressed and back and forth etc.

That's quite an achievement. Yes, the film is flawed but you know what? I don't mind that films are flawed, it's the emotional punch that I'm going for. The film is made by someone on a mission (albeit a confused one at times) but the end result is a film that is raw and intimate.

Oh, there is a special place reserved in heaven for all the Bagbys. And a special place in hell for the murderer and the judge who set the murderer loose.