Our Father
After a woman's at-home DNA test reveals multiple half-siblings, she discovers a shocking scheme involving donor sperm and a popular fertility doctor.
- Released: 2022-05-11
- Runtime: 97 minutes
- Genre: Crime, Documentaries
- Stars: Donald Cline, Jacoba Ballard, Angela Ganote, Kylene Gott, Julie Harmon, Jason Hyatt, Matt White, Heather Woock, Dianna Kiesler, Liz White, Keith Boyle, Leslie Koch Foumberg, Lea Roman, Simone-Elise Girard
- Director: Lucie Jourdan
Comments
- wrwoolley-471-700064 - 21 May 2023
Literally jaw-dropping
I'm having a great deal of difficulty trying to grasp what all the half-siblings must have felt, and likely continue to feel, when they discovered the reality of their parentage. This documentary is a crystal-clear message to everyone to question, unflaggingly, everything their physician does, every test, procedure and prescription they recommend. Every single one. Having one's face on the cover of a magazine and being touted as a "leading" doctor in any field of medicine is not a guarantee of that person's moral or mental health. I found the most compelling part of the documentary to be the revelation about how many other infertility specialists have been discovered to have engaged in the same twisted behavior as Mr. Cline. I can't imagine any length of incarceration or monetary compensation that would be adequate punishment in such cases. This was one deeply astonishing, disturbing and thought-provoking documentary. - screenwriter-972-149612 - 10 August 2022
An expanding story
Other reviews will provide the story line. Read some. The subject of this documentary is as bizarre and complex...or simple, as the reviewers here present it. Know that going in.
Know also that this is a film about frustration, legality and guilt or the lack of it. Beyond those deep themes, the producers had a problem. As the story unraveled, it grew and at the same time became more focused. How to present that? The challenge was to keep the narrative moving forward with more and more supporting characters. The filmmakers decided to focus on a few selected victims/participants and play the 'father' of the title off against them. Wise decision. The film works well with this format.
Could it have been tightened up a bit? I suppose so. Some of the revelations and reactions to them become repetitive, but overall, it's an interesting and revelatory documentary.
