Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Jan Broberg, Bob Broberg, Mary Ann Broberg, Susan Broberg, Karen Campbell, Pete Welsh, Joe Berchtold
Description: The twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction true story of the Brobergs, a naïve, church-going Idaho family that fell under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor with designs on their twelve-year-old daughter.
Review: “Abducted in Plain Sight” is a crime documentary about a family that falls under the spell of a manipulative neighbor, who abducts their young daughter. This documentary has simply one of those “what the fuck” stories. And it will keep you thinking for a while.
The production of “Abducted in Plain Sight” took three years, where film makers wanted to get their hands on the original documents and rapports to create a complete story. Directed and produced by Skye Borgman, this documentary tells the story of Jan Broberg, from the American town of Pocatello. She was sexually abused and kidnapped by her neighbor and friend of the family, Robert Bechtold.
Berchtold was a common guest at the Broberg house and a close friend to the family. In 1974 he offered daughter Jan, twelve at the time, to pick her up from her piano lesson and take her horse back riding. Instead Broberg abducted her. Twice. The second time was to Mexico. There they got married and Jan was repeatedly raped by Berchtold. The adult Jan, believes that Berchtold abused her about 200 times in total.
In the documentary, we hear the story from different points of view: Jan, her parents, her sisters and Berchtold’s brother. It’s not the amount of gruesome details that is so controversial, it’s the parent’s attitude towards everything that happened. It’s hard to understand how both Bob and Mary Ann Broberg dealt with the abuse and the abduction of their daughter. When she first disappeared, they waited almost a week to call the police. And they still thought it was too soon. They had such faith in Berchtold as a friend, that they didn’t want to believe he abducted her. Even when Berchtold asked them to marry Jan, they never pressed charges. And Mary Ann always thought Berchtold fascination for Jan was disturbing, but she let them meet anyway.
There was even a time, where Berchtold was in therapy and he said he had to be around Jan to heal. And they let him sleep in her bed every night, where Berchtold abused Jan again. In their own house. And this was after the first abduction!
Jan’s mother Mary Ann even fell in love with Berchtold and had a brief affaire with him. And father Bob also had a sexual encounter with Berchtold.
Simple disbelief in everything I saw in this documentary. I had several WTF moments, I just don’t understand how these parents could’ve let all of this happen.
Rating: 3,5/ 5
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten