Being a critic
- naia-ash
- Nov 28, 2016
- 7 min read
Hey you.
I took some time to finally watch the following documentaries. I warned you about my obsessiveness with crime documentaries so please bear with me if you happen to be one of those who can't stand these things.
P.s these are actually movies and not the 45 minute long documentaries from 48 hours, or whatever else which is out there.
The first one which really evoked a lot emotions was :
Dream/Killer - 10/10
I gave it a 10/10 because I have never seen the legal system fail so evidently, on camera which really made me feel like slamming my laptop (I couldn't cause I had to remind myself that it belongs to my husband and he'll prolly kill me as it is his precious macbook) and I also have never seen a father and mother this committed to their child ever. I know, parents' love is always unconditional and knows no boundaries, but this pair really blew my mind away. Every time the dad choked up, I choked up too. By the way, the real people affected i.e from the Defendant, to the public prosecutors, judge, parents, siblings are all documented so I find it better than the other documentaries where most of them are re-enactments.
Coming back to the Defendant. His name is Ryan Ferguson.
Now imagine facing a charge looking like this:
And coming out after 10 years looking like this:
That too, for a crime you never committed. I felt bad for the fella as he himself said at the end of the movie (a few months after getting out of prison), that he feels lost as he does not know what to do. His whole adult life was in prison and he feels like he had more peace when he was in there. I hope that by now he feels a lot better and find it in his heart to forgive those who have wronged him. I have never seen anyone like him, who can be so forgiving towards people who harmed him despite them putting him in this deep hole in the first place.
The whole thing which led up to him getting charged is bullshit. What happens is his friend got severely drunk (don't drink kids! Not good for you) one night, blanked out, and he gets visions (more like he was pressured when questioned by the police who put pictures and thoughts in his head) and he randomly comes up with a story that Ryan was with him at the same time and they murdered someone.
I don't want to get into details because I don't wish to spoil it for the rest of you people who are planning to watch it. The title says it all, a conviction of a murder based on a dream. Yeah, what on earth..
It was extremely touching and I was left thinking about a lot of stuff after the movie ended. Firstly about him, then about how many times people refuse to understand that the legal system CAN fail if the wrong people represent you/state.
Next one :
The Imposter - 8/10
This one is crazy on so many levels. So a 13 year old boy goes missing from home after having an argument with his mother. He goes missing and nothing is heard till 4 years later. They receive a call saying that the boy was found in Spain, and that he was kidnapped and tortured by military police who used him and several other children as sex slaves.
The boy's sister than goes to Spain and fetches him after 4 years and is relieved to finally have her brother back into her arms.
No. Not that simple. I have never seen a sister, mother, or family members not recognize someone who clearly isn't their son. Firstly, the boy who went missing was blonde and had blue/green eyes. This guy who resurfaced had brown hair and brown eyes. He dyed his hair blonde when "his sister" came to pick him up from the home he was at in Spain.
The boy who went missing was supposed to be 16 by the time they found him. However "the guy" who claimed to be the missing child was actually a 23 year old monster, pretending to be a 16 year old AND, the imposter had a heavy accent and was obviously not an american child who went missing. Trust me when I say this, the movie was 3/4 represented by the imposter himself and when you look at him and see what he looks like, you yourself will be shocked that the missing boy's family can actually believe that it was the same guy. The other thing which was interesting about the movie is that the imposter had so much air time. It's refreshing and chilling to see the real imposter admitting and speaking about each and every step he took to commit perjury. Not that I'm a sadist or psycho, I just feel that 90% of the documentaries usually portray only the victim's family.
The imposter was welcomed with open arms back to the family. The peculiar thing was, his elder brother came to the family home to see him. He took one look at him and left, wishing him all the best. It was later found out that the elder brother knew it was not him and did not want to argue with his family as he saw no point, they were bent on believing that it was their child. This elder brother died a year later once investigation started.
This matter raised suspicion once the whole family started appearing on the news. (Of course media was interested in them because of the sudden reappearance of the missing kid.) A private detective noticed how different the two boys looked (the one who was missing vs the guy who is back).
Tiny and creepy details like how he got tattoos to replicate the ones the missing child had you will have to watch it to find out.
End of it all, it makes me believe, just like the private detective that the family might have killed the missing boy. Maybe it's lack of my ability to feel their trauma, but I seriously can't imagine accepting someone else's kid as my own family member. I have a younger brother as well. If he goes missing for a couple of years I am pretty darn sure I will know whether he's my brother and I wouldn't at all be comfortable calling some other boy the same name I call my brother much less give a complete stranger the same place in my house. (Different scenario if the family decides to adopt someone etc) But to completely give someone else his identity, no way in hell (heaven,or earth) for that matter.
The next one and the last one for today.
Amanda Knox - 6/10
I could not find a snap shot of the movie but I think there's two. I am talking about the 2016 version where the real Amanda Knox is featured in and not the Lifetime movie version.
You know, I really had to keep reminding myself that my ratings shouldn't be about how much the case touched me or how much confidence I have for the person being exonerated/convicted. But rather about the visuals, whole story line starting from the build up to the end. To be brutally honest, no matter how hard I tried, I just can't.
From the features of the film, to the obnoxious journalist... Jeez definitely not on my replay list.
First of all I was already aware of this matter. An American girl and her boyfriend gets charged for the murder of a British girl in Italy.
The facts which were displayed in this particular documentary did make me gain some sympathy for her but I can't help but keep replaying all her eccentric behaviour in previous documentaries I have seen where they showed her french kissing her boyfriend right outside the crime scene when the police responded to her call, or doing gymnastics during her police interrogation, or even a phone conversation between her and her friend from America about how hot her boyfriend is one day after her friend was murdered. It's just weird and I can't really put my finger on whether or not she is really innocent. I understand that people respond differently when they are in shock but this one was way too.. I'm just speechless. I don't think I would be in the mood to do whatever she did when my friend just passed away a day before. If I found a stranger with her throat slit open on the ground I would be petrified, much less my own friend.
All in all, I don't think you should take my word for this particular documentary as I quite frankly cannot stand her face, voice and everything else. Most importantly I don't 100% think that she is innocent and I still think that she at least would have some idea or some part to play even IF she wasn't the actual person who took the life of her friend.
With all that being said, I just want to remind myself and you guys again then even though these movies are called documentaries and even when we watch the news, they are all part of the media, and don't forget what the media does. They make you believe what you need to see and hear by constantly broadcasting things they want you to see and hear.
Even the obnoxious journalist I mentioned above said that when everything blew over, over the years, there are infact many trivial matters and statements which were blown out of proportions in the media and even admitted that they were not necessary and most definitely would have damaged the case. Their stand point is, it's their job. If they get something juicy enough they don't wait and say "oh hang on a second, let me just verify this and get back to publishing it" and on the other hand someone from another news agency yadayada beats him to it.
So be careful people. I would just like to stress again, all these are my reviews on what I took back after watching and it doesn't mean you have to agree or feel the same way as me. We are all entitled to our own versions of what we decide to take back and learn from in every thing we are exposed to. Be it a movie, a book, a facebook post or whatever life surprises us with.
P.S. I will update on the book status soon, I promise.
Love,
Naia
コメント