source: Newtown

Director Kim Snyder's documentary "Newtown" is a gripping film about the aftermath of the largest mass school shooting in U.S. history which took place at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conneticut on December 14, 2012. The documentary follows three Newtown families who lost their sons in the tragedy, and another family who had a son survive the tragedy but still left them with much grief. Snyder does an admirable job in highlighting the documentary around how life has immensely altered for these families, and she cerebrally avoids the the pitfalls of making it into a sensational, political agenda documentary; even though "gun control" policy has to be a requisite to be part of the feature. This is not for the weak hearted; as you can imagine, there are definitely moments of profound sorrow in featuring the families discussing how their sons were like. No one will ever forget the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, and this documentary is just a subtle reminder, yet effective one, how this can never be put aside in our memory. **** Good

Is something everyone with just the slightest slice of empathy and emotion must have after watching this. And yet time and time again, mass shootings happen in America and nothing is really been done to stop them. Depending on your stance on certain things, you may already accuse me of talking about a ban for all weapons. Or you may think I want everyone to have guns, or that there have been some changes law-wise. The latter is only slightly true, especially when the current administration negated some of it (concerning the mentally challenged and them being able to purchase weapons). It is quite a powerful documentary with a lot of emotions and a lot to swallow. There are things that should never have happened ... and yet here we are ... again and again and again (unfortunately)

Once it's okay to kill babies there will never be changes with who can have a gun in the US. What thoughtful and brave parents, how devastating. Newtown seems like the perfect community which makes for a stark contrast with the horror. The community seems to be healing and doing their best. Well worth the watch just make sure you have tissue handy!

Charlton Heston, the Oscar winning actor and one time President of the powerful lobby group the National Rife Association, once declared: "From my cold dead hands." And while America awaits sensible legislation and gun control laws, more innocent victims are lost in senseless massacres from people who probably should not have had access to a lethal weapon in the fits place. In his gun control documentary Bowling For Columbine Michael Moore used humour as a weapon and as a powerful tool in his cry for tighter laws on gun ownership. There is precious little humour to be found in this raw and emotional documentary from director Kim A Snyder that looks at the aftermath of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in a perfect and safe little town in rural Connecticut. On the morning of December 14, gunman Adam Lanza shot his own mother and then drove to the nearby school where he opened fire, killing 20 young children and six adults before turning the gun on himself. Snyder comes into a community still raw with emotion, grief and a palpable sense of anger at yet another senseless slaughter of the innocent. Snyder (who worked as an assistant producer with Jodie Foster on the comedy Home For The Holidays) incorporates lots of newsreel footage here along with some intimate interviews with first responders, the local priest, and William Begg, the ER doctor who talks about the traumatic impact of the bullets on the young bodies. Snyder also connects with three families affected by the tragedy - the Bardens, the Hockleys and the Wheelers - who all lost a child in the massacre, and they talk openly and honestly about how they are trying to move on from the loss. Snyder obviously has an agenda here as she tries to put the focus firmly on the emotional and controversial issue of gun control and the inadequacy of legislators to address the problem. There are some gut wrenching moments throughout, but she handles this material with great sensitivity and understanding. This is a study of a community torn apart by tragedy and attempting to rebuild their lives and find some positives. If this incident doesn't change America's attitude towards tighter gun laws then possible nothing ever will. And despite President Obama's attempts to change the laws yet again the US Senate backed away from tighter gun laws.

My heart bleeds for the victims and their families. But this slow, meandering and poorly produced film does not help.

Newtown received a standing ovation at its regional premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. It touches quite a few nerves in a state that it caught up in a highly divisive debate over its gun laws. Even though everyone walking into the theater saw the news coverage of December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook massacre and knows exactly what happened, the film is hypnotic, powerful and emotionally overwhelming. It is mostly presented through interviews with family members, teachers, a priest, and first responders. They all tell the tale of the tragedy that scarred their small idyllic Connecticut town. The film focuses on three families that were willing to open up and tell some of the stories of the deaths of their children and how those deaths tore their lives apart. The small details and family photos are perhaps the most devastating. The film is done with great care, skill and humanity. The killer's name is never verbalized (and only briefly displayed in some documents on the screen) and his story is not really explored. There is clearly a political agenda at work and film is clearly advocating for more gun control, but that is secondary to presenting a human portrait of the young lives were tragically cut short. Sandy Hook has become the emotional touchstone of the gun debate, because the children were so young and so innocent. The families seem to be resilient and willing to carry on and fight for better laws to save other children from meeting the same tragic fate. The film is haunting and left much of the audience trying to hold back tears. For those who are willing to ride this emotional roller-coaster, Newtown is highly recommended.

Trailer—Newtown

Newtown