| DVD Roundup May 2006
Real Life, Reel Death
 A&E, Discovery Channel and other
cable networks have tapped into the viewing public's curiosity with crime and criminals.
This is especially true for murders and the people who commit them. TV coverage has made
Ted Bundy, Eric and Lyle Menendez, and Richard Ramirez household names, and if you live in
a large metropolitan area, you know that your local newscasts are dominated by crime
stories involving shootings, stabbings, and other violent acts.
Brother’s keeper or killer?
Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky have done quite a bit of
TV work, both directing and producing. However, their finest work has been done in film.
They founded their own production company, Creative Thinking International, in 1991, and
in 1992 delivered Brother's Keeper, a crime documentary of unusual narrative
strength. It was named Best Documentary by the Directors Guild of America, the New York
Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review, and the Boston Society of Film Critics.
Even 14 years after its release (it didn't make it to DVD until 2003), it still intrigues
audiences that are well versed in the twists and turns of true-crime stories.
Brother's Keeper (****1/2) is set in the farming
community of Munnsville, New York, population 499. It tells the story of "the Ward
boys," four peculiar bachelor brothers who for 60 years worked their family farm and
shared a rundown farm house with no heat or running water. One of the brothers seemingly
dies in his sleep, and his death comes into question. Delbert Ward eventually confesses to
suffocating his brother, but was it out of mercy for his declining health or as a matter
farmyard euthanasia? Other possible motives come to light, but the people of Munnsville
back Delbert. He's one of them.
What makes Brother's Keeper compelling is not only
the question of Delbert's guilt, but his unassuming personality. He is not the
attention-seeking Ted Bundy; his reclusive lifestyle and low IQ make him a very
sympathetic character. Eventually, viewers wonder whether any justice will be served if
Delbert, who is elderly and in poor health, goes to jail for something that was, in the
end, between brothers.
Troubled teen trio
Before seeing Paradise Lost (****), Berlinger and
Sinofsky's second crime documentary, I doubted that it would come close to the insight and
power of Brother's Keeper. However, it is a mesmerizing film, for some of the same
reasons that Brother's Keeper succeeds. It also went on to win various awards,
including a Primetime Emmy. It was originally broadcast on HBO, which has been the source
of many good original films, including documentaries on subjects that other production
companies wouldn't touch. Perhaps it is this independence that pushed HBO to back Paradise
Lost.
Subtitled The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, the
movie is about the slaying of three eight-year-old boys. Under much pressure, the police
accuse three teenagers of sacrificing the boys as part of a satanic ritual. All are
convicted despite no physical evidence connecting them to the crime. The defendants'
interest in heavy-metal music, black clothing, and the Wicca religion are important to the
prosecutor's case.
The access that Berlinger and Sinofsky had to the people
involved in the case -- as they were in court or sitting in jail -- gives viewers a deep
understanding of the accused and of the families of the victims. We see them all as they
are, during good and bad moments. While the filmmakers certainly have their ideas about
the case, they have the wisdom to let the events unfold for the cameras, instead of
cutting the movie to manufacture a point of view for the audience.
New evidence
Berlinger and Sinofsky continued to follow the people
involved in the murders, and out of this came Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (****).
What else is there to know after the convictions of the supposed killers? Aside from the
drama of the appeals, there is new evidence that seems all the more important considering
some of the people involved. You'll have to see the movies to know what I'm talking about;
once you see the first part, you won't want to miss the second. DVD extras are scant for
both movies, but you'll still want to sift through them afterwards, in hope of gleaning
some unknown detail.
We don't often think of filmmakers who make documentaries
as storytellers, but that's what the good ones are. They work with what they are given,
exposing the story buried within the series of events, letting the story tell itself. This
is what Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky do so well. Keep an eye open for Brother's
Keeper and the Paradise Lost films as you're flipping through the channels or
looking for something to rent.
...Marc Mickelson
marc@hometheatersound.com |
