Menendez: Blood Brothers (2017)

Well, you should just be tried in America, eh! Cruel...

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Another pretty good film revolving around an interesting case. It's strange how gender can be so decisive in how people view such matters, which was reflected in both the jury and public opinion.

For the sake of completeness, I also watched the Netflix documentary about it (the miniseries is for later). Those guys had high-profile lawyers, and the case appeared on TV shortly after the Rodney King case, which resulted in riots. So, there was a whole media circus surrounding it at the time. The focus there is placed more on murder for financial gain than on the years of rape and abuse. Initially, very little credence was given to that either. It is also very strange how big the difference was between their first (dismissed) trial and the second.

Through that avenue, you also learn much more about psychiatrist Oziel, which is material for a film in itself. You also see how younger generations and social media have steered these events in a completely different direction, and how public opinion has consequently shifted somewhat. And finally, how both brothers struggle with feelings of guilt in their own way, especially towards each other. Ultimately, I find the documentary to be just slightly stronger than this film. Curious about the miniseries...

Translated from Dutch · View original