Cady's Take:

Arnold’s one vice in life was his attraction to magazines with pictures of naked boys - something with which his family seemed to be vaguely familiar. Local postal authorities had been monitoring the Friedmans' mail and were aware of the magazines he was receiving. When they learned about Arnold's home computer class, they started interviewing his students - all boys, ranging in age from 7 to 12. As the family is preparing to eat their Thanksgiving dinner, the police enter the home, searching for pornographic material. Soon Arnold is arrested on child sex-abuse charges - as is his youngest son, 18-year-old Jesse.

Arnold and Jesse protest their innocence, Jesse louder than Arnold. Arnold admits to being a pedophile. He subscribes to kiddie porn magazines and keeps a stash behind the piano. He even admitted to a dalliance or two in his past. But as a piano and computer teacher who weekly invited children into his home over a period of several years, Jarecki seems to think he and Jesse were innocent.

The bulk of "Capturing the Friedmans" is the home footage shot by the family over many years, including discussions and shouting matches over the charges. Watching the news clips and the Friedmans' home movies, we witness a climate of hysteria being created, with the police pressured more to solve the case and punish the alleged perpetrators than to ferret out the truth.

"Capturing the Friedmans,” suggests that nothing actually happened and that no physical proof exists other than the testimony of the children. Friedman and his youngest son Jesse pleaded guilty to pedophilia-related charges - including rape. Arnold died in prison, while Jesse was released after 13 years.

"Capturing the Friedmans" is a hugely powerful documentary, and one that deserves its due.

What a wholly fascinating movie we have in “Capturing the Friedmans”; a documentary that will rip your guts out from start to finish, and leave you aching with the desire for more information. However one leaves the movie with a feeling that no matter how much information we get we will never know the whole truth, much less understand it.

We are introduced to a family from Great Neck Long Island, when over Thanksgiving Arnold Friedman – father and husband – is arrested on possession of child pornography. It seems clear that Arnold is guilty, which is shocking as he is a respected teacher and member of the community. As the word gets out, panic ensues with parents of his students (he taught computer classes in his home as well as being a science teacher) claiming their children were raped by not just Arnold, but also by his son Jesse. It seems clear that Arnold is guilty of something, although how much we are not sure. Jesse on the other hand seems like he may have been railroaded into a guilty plea. The accusations of the “victims” seem so violent, so atrocious, it seems almost impossible to believe that they could have happened in the Friedman home, with many other children about, and when any parent could have walked in at any time.

The truly fascinating part about “Capturing the Friedmans” is that the footage is supplemented by home video, taken by Arnold’s oldest son David. We see the family disintegrate before our eyes during the trials of Arnold and Jesse, and we see a family that was disintegrating long before David’s camera began rolling. This is a disturbing, and truly one of the most honest documentaries I have ever seen. Is Arnold a monster, or did he plead to crimes he did not commit to save his family? Is Jesse guilty, or did he plead only in the hopes of seeing daylight again? It is possible that the police are guilty of misconduct, and it is just as possible that they are not. It seems no one will ever know, and this film does justice to each side of every story.