Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

I wish I could watch this movie over again for the first time.  

Kurt Kuenne shot and directed Dear Zachary, a documentary about his childhood best friend, Andrew Bagby. Andrew was a young doctor working out of a family practice in Latrobe, PA. In November 2001, he was shot and murdered by ex-girlfriend Shirley Turner. A resident of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Turner somehow evades any form of long-term jail sentence for most of the movie. Four months or so after the murder, Turner announces that she is pregnant with Andrew’s baby. Upon hearing the news, Jon and Kate Bagby (Andrew's parents) move their whole lives to Newfoundland to fight for the custody of Baby Zachary. Kuenne sets out across the country (and the world) to interview family and friends of the Bagbys, to tell the story of Andrew’s life, so Zachary can meet his father in spirit and in memories.  

From the beginning of this movie, you will be hooked. The number of interviews Kuenne shot, and the amount of people who loved and were touched by Andrew Bagby, is truly astounding. Being made by the victim’s best friend, the story in this movie is predictably one-sided, and you will full-out believe that Shirley Turner is the devil.

I am in no way eager to give any more spoilers; this is a film you must see to believe. Moments in this film will leave you feeling joyous, heartbroken, uncontrollably enraged, and emotionally exhausted. This film is completely unsettling, and I promise it will stick with you.  

You can stream Dear Zachary online on both Netflix and Hulu Plus.