Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

Z is for Zachary
There were a number of amazing documentaries this year, but few were quite as emotionally draining as Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, Kurt Kuenne’s examination of the murder of his best friend, Andrew Bagby. (Full disclosure: I know Kurt, and briefly knew Andrew.—DF) Channeling his grief into a cinematic tribute intended for Andrew’s infant child, Zachary, Kuenne memorializes his childhood buddy and laments his loss. Then things suddenly spiral off into an unexpected direction, and Zachary becomes the focus of the movie in some truly unforeseen ways. Critics have compared this doc to a primal scream of rage, and indeed, it’s left audiences brimming with anger and sorrow. The movie is not what you would call a pleasant experience, but it is a moving one, as well as a potent reminder of the power of first-person cinejournalism.