Robin Solsjö Höglund’s review published on Letterboxd:
Everywhere I ever look, on every list of recommended documentaries, this one keeps popping up. I thought I'd finally see it to understand why.
Young Zachary's uncle made this documentary film to commemorate his brother's Andrew's life, and to tell Zachary, Andrew's son, who he was. That's all I'll say about it.
This one felt like it blew by very fast, for better and for worse. There's a lot of information to take in, and the filmmakers didn't want to bog you down with it, so it's kind of..thrown at you emotionally, and the emotions are clearly meant to take center stage. Joy, sadness, anger, heartbreak, loss, confusion, love, laughter, it's all kind of mishmashed into a strong kaleidoscopic experience of family and loss, death and life and legacy. I didn't cry ("You robot!"), but I was actually kind of taken by what an impact Andrew, his parents and son have had on people. It's really a wonderful testament to them and their family under some quite sad circumstances, it truly seems as though he lived more than most in a life that was even briefer than ours, and if that's not amazing, I'm not sure what is.
I do think this is one you may have to watch at least twice just to kind of take it all in, because the first watch can be a little overwhelming. It really just flew right past, I looked up, and looked down, and 20 or 30 minutes just brushed by each time. I think that's both good and bad. It means you're really invested in the film and caught by it, which is the point, but if you told me to recount all the details of it afterwards, I doubt I'd be able to recount all the specifics. You just have to see it. Sure, it falls into the "outrage documentary" category (like most similar documentaries they are meant to give you a purely raw emotional response, which will leave you crying or shaking your fist, not inform you on the exact details), but at least this had a nice balance of the good and the bad - sadness and joy, union and seperation. I wouldn't say this is a spectacularly well made documentary film in any kind of "professional" sense, but it's very honest, raw and real, and you can clearly see that there was a lot of love (and anger and sadness) involved in the process.
I'll just end this one by saying this: I have a niece who is just two years old. I honestly hate the way people behave around her. Adults, parents, friends, relatives, they all flock around the little baby as if she's the cure for cancer, the Messiah, the greatest living thing that ever existed in the universe - doting her, making silly noises, acting childishly, wanting to hug her and kiss her and remark on her every little move and noise and praise her to no end. This documentary kind of gave me an insight as to why, and what they feel when they see her. Why you'd want to hold your child, your daughter, your niece or grandchild for as long as possible, document and enjoy and praise every little moment with them. Perhaps I'll share this documentary with them one day, but..I don't think they're quite ready for it yet. If ever.
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