Our Father

Our Father is a disturbing tale of half-siblings finding each other and learning a very bitter truth in the process: their mother's fertility doctor is their biological father. The documentary holds nothing back, giving the siblings the opportunity to voice their perspectives and provide detailed statements on how this ordeal has overturned their lives at various points. Sperm donation is something that we saw being talked about in films such as Vicky Donor (in India) and Delivery Man (in US) - both light-hearted takes on the subject. But what makes all the difference here is that everything in the documentary happened in real life and more importantly, Dr. Cline very clearly knew what he was doing and still did it dozens of times, his motivation behind the acts still unknown.

The very fact that he lied and hid the truth accounts for the crime here. He fathered children and pretended like they weren't his. The evolution of DNA technology exposed him, however, the laws in the state couldn't bring him to justice and he remains a free man. I'm really enjoying Netflix bringing these stories to light - they're honestly miles ahead of their original cinematic productions. And when we have such earth-shattering real-life incidents taking place around us, this is the least a streaming giant like Netflix can do. Well-made, nicely put together, extremely hard-hitting stuff.

Yeah, this piece is a psychological horror-thriller of the highest order and one that sticks with you for all the wrong reasons!

Our father - a great title and it can mean anything. Like literally anything - but the doc is actually about what you would call a literal father. It is so insane what one individual did to others, that if I were to tell you about it ... you wouldn't believe it. And yet this is not fiction, but true.

The interviews reveal a horrific story and the way it is put together the stakes get higher by the minute. The suspense and what has happened to many families is immense. But even though we understand the struggle the craziness of it all - we can also understand that being right, does not always mean that you are right - in the eyes of the law that is. Or in the eyes of prosecutors or whatever.

The fact there are no laws against what the doc has done ... no written ones for most of the things he has done. And then there is this techincality thing .. let's leave it at that. If you are into "true crime" stuff, I won't have to convince you to watch this. It is already on your list - and if you like documentaries that are quite out there.

There are some rather dumb people reviewing here saying "What's the big deal, you needed insemination from a stranger anyway?" When someone seeks artificial insemination, back then and now, they choose from a pool of donors who've been through health screening. Meaning anyone with a medical condition is forbidden from being a sperm donor.

This imbecile Cline is/was not a healthy man. He has/had auto immune disease. He wouldn't have even gotten through the first hoop of donor screening! So you see, there's a problem here. And this is just ONE of the issues with what he did. He co-created nearly 100 human beings that are now predisposed to becoming ill.

The film needed to be dramatic to get the message through to the public more effectively.

I'm not going to detail the rest of the issues related to his conduct, but this criminal needs an appropriate prison sentence, or be admitted to an asylum. One, to assist his victims to move into closure mode, and two, to set an example for other offenders who wish to violate women in this way.

The fact that the US judicial system does not see this mans behaviour as criminal is telling. Amazing story, I especially loved the Dr Phil touch.

Its only a matter of time before siblings marry and the situation blows up again.

A shocking documentary which I didn't think would have been possible had I not watched it.

He broke no laws but just because a law doesn't exist for this type of immoral behaviour doesn't make it any less heinous, not least because he had medical issues himself ruling him out from being a donor.

As a documentary it was 'ok' but a little too long.

7 out of 10. It's worth a watch.