4/5 Heartfelt, Moving, Account Of A Very Tragic True Story
  by Susan Y. Schoonover (Boulder, CO)
DEAR ZACHARY is not a perfect documentary by any means. The movie is manipulative at times, quite heavy handed and not always professionally rendered. Yet the film does what it sets out to do in telling this almost unbelievably sad story and making the viewer care about the victims. We are fully introduced to young physician Dr. Andrew Bagby and come to know and care about him, his parents, friends, posthumously born son and extended family. We also come to thoroughly despise his killer who commits another even more horrible murder before the film is finished.

I knew nothing about this case before viewing the film which was made by one of Andrew's longtime friends and provides lots of film footage of him at many stages of his life. Andrew grew up as the only child and pride of his parents, Missouri born engineer David and British nurse Kate, in a comfortable home in Northern California. His lifelong dream was to become a doctor and though he was not accepted at a US medical school he was admitted to one in Newfoundland. At this Canadian school he sadly met his killer though he also attained his medical degree. He was happily finishing his residency in Latrobe, Pennsylvania when he was killed shattering the lives of many.

Unbelievably Canadian law allowed his killer to be released on bail and to commit another murder. This film will move the viewer to both anger and sadness. Yet the filmmaker actually manages to end it with a degree of hope because of Andrew's truly inspiring parents.


5/5 An emotional earthquake.
  by Harkanwar Anand (Corona, New York)
This film shook me by the roots. It's a documentary style film with plenty of details, images, recaptured moments of streets, events, people, a really stunning work by the director and he manages to evoke the most sensitive specific feelings for people you didn't know until a few minutes ago.

I was not as shocked as I was shaken and overcome by grief and remorse the film-maker arose in me.

It will not be wrong to say that this is the most powerful film I've seen and every bit of it is true.

No lack of irony. I did not stop weeping. Somebody said that when people die we always talk good about them but in this case it was true. Do give this is a viewing, fifteen minutes into it, you'll forget what you were up to earlier. Thanks.

4/5 If you aren't weeping by film's end, you are not human
  by deaner73 (Palo Alto, CA USA)
In a nutshell, if you aren't in a weepy state by the end of this film you likely aren't human. That said, its for the best if you go into your initial screening of this documentary knowing as little as possible about the events that comprise this narrative. If you're in the mood for a fairly riveting crime documentary and also in need of a cathartic emotional release by way of some serious misty-eyed action - look no further than this disc. Some points are docked for the cheapo, vid quality of this production but if you can look past that you're in for one heck of an emotional roller-coaster with this one.

4/5 Heartwrenching
  by K. Durkin (Pennsylvania)
I knew the story before I watched it and still ended up crying. It's a testament to how much joy and love Andrew brought to his friends' lives, a reminder of how much pain one individual can cause to all those who loved him, and ultimately the story of how two parents' strength and love can endure even the worst of tragedies. The extended family they gained in Canada and all of Andrew's many friends was truly a wonderful thing to watch. As Kurt said, (Kate and John)"still have children."

3/5 Average
  by Chris Johannsen (CA, USA)
The story told by this documentary was sad, but I thought the documentary itself was pretty average. I'm suspicious of all these reviews saying that this documentary 'changed my life.' I even read on some totally unrelated message board that this is a 'life-changing documentary.' It makes me think there is some type of guerilla underground Internet marketing going on.

I wouldn't expect anyting life-changing from this documentary but it may be worth watching if you can catch it for free on TV.