Which is why this
named David
documentary has
Friedman.
struck such a chord
But when Friedman
with audiences, even
'took Jarecki into his
in its opening week
childhood home in
Great Neck, Long
on both coasts.
Island, Jarecki
"Because there
were home videos,
unlocked the secret to
this sad clown.
the audience
That's how Jarecki's
becomes a primary
life unfolds: When he
source — you get a
can't get through on
chance to decide for
yourself," said
the telephone to a
movie theater back in
Jarecki. "The film
1988, he decides to
charges the audience
start MovieFone.
a s a judge might a
When he wants to
jury."
Director Andrew Jarecki's
make a sweet docu-
Did they do it?
"Capturing the Friedman"
mentary, he stumbles
What did Jarecki
took the top prize in the
onto one of the most
think?
documentary competition
"I try not to behave at the Sundance Film Festival sensational stories a
filmmaker could hope
[as] if I were there,"
in January.
to find.
he said, dodging the
"I'm very lucky.
question. "I think the
Strange things happen to me," said
issue is so much more complicated
the filmmaker, who is as engaging as
than the case because there were two
his film.
people involved: Arnold and his son.
Wearing jeans and a dark blue long-
"Some people say, `I don't know if
sleeved T-shirt, a green-and-blue bead-
I believe them. I don't know if
ed bracelet peeking through, the 40-
they're guilty or innocent.' And the
year-old looks ever
the causal dot-corn
millionaire cum
artiste, and he
casually accepts his
fortuitous life (now
taking place in
Rome, with his
wife and three
sons).
"The only thing
I really credit
myself with is
being willing to
let it develop," he
said.
And if you feel
like the wool is
being pulled over
your
eyes on this
Arnold Friedman (father), Elaine Friedman (mother) and
roller
coaster of a
their three boys, Jesse (left) David (middle), and Seth (right),
tale,
Jarecki
said
at David Friedman's bar mitzvah.
it's only because
he's trying to pres-
ent the information as he himself
only thing I was trying to make peo-
ple do is to separate these two people discovered it: onion layers of contra-
in their minds, because, you know,
dictions impeccably interwoven to
who among us wants to be judged by create a heartbreaking story that
the same criterion as our parents?"
you'll have to just see for yourself.
Jarecki himself stumbled into this
saga with different intentions. After
Capturing the Friedman is sched-
he and his partners sold MovieFone
uled to open Friday, July 11, at the
to AOL for $388 million in stock
Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak,
options in 1999, he decided to make
(248) 542-0180; and at Madstone
a nice little documentary about chil-
Theatres in Ann Arbor at a time to
dren's birthday-party entertainers,
be determined, (734) 994-1000.
following one Manhattan-ite clown

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