A Father’s Promise Review – Riveting, Passionate, Doc Addresses Gun Violence
- Details
- Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film
- Published on Wednesday, 06 December 2023 12:09
- Written by Janet Walker
A Father's Promise, from Abramorama, presents the story of professional musician Mark Barden whose life changed instantly, when his son Daniel was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary school, and the resilience to turn tragedy into hope.
Directed by Rick Korn and executive produced by Sheryl Crow, A Father's Promise introduces viewers to Daniel, the youngest of three chidlren, with pictures and remembrances we see him fooling around with his brother, James, and sister, Natalie, and the drummer in the family band. The children, who had only known the safety of their small enclave, the daily "grind" of school life, when as chidlren one day becomes the next, with only vacations and recess punctuating the dull existence of everyday life.
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On December 12, 2012, Daniel, we are told woke up very early, which was unusual, with boundless energy, (also unusual), walked his brother and sister to the bus stop, told them he loved them and then sat down with his dad, Mark, to learn to play the piano. And then he was off to school, at Sandy Hook Elementary, and minutes after the first bell, and in an instant, he was gone.
Mark Barden, whose name, when spoken, causes one to think, "I know, I know that name," and it is quite likely that many do recognize his name. Mark Barden became an advocate on December 12, 2012, the day his son, Daniel, a red-headed first grader with two missing front teeth, was one of 20 students and six educators were murdered at Newtown Elementary school.
On that day, Barden explains, along with his wife, Jackie, an educator, he was "rewired." Before the death of his son, he was one person, and now he is another.
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After the loss of his son, Mark lost all interest in music and vowed to do everything in his power to help prevent gun violence so that no one else must go through what he and his family went through. Now, even as a musician, he is a dedicated advocate for the memory of his son, and the other children who were massacred on that day.
He along with other families have fought the inertia of the Washington political machine, the slander and defamation of those who called Sandy Hook a hoax, and the gun companies for the marketing tactics which portray AR-15 ownership has manly.
The doc shows an unfortunate montage of mass shootings, which have so vividly punctuated the psyche of the American people. This issue of gun control crosses all socio-economic and ethnic lines, and as we hear from former President Barack Obama, who is featured, we begin to understand that as a united people, we are slowly moving the needle, it is the front organizations like Sandy Hook Promise, that continues to advocate for changes in Gun Control, and build grass roots coalitions, and students like the survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who on February 15, 2018, one day after a gunman claimed the lives of 17 of their student colleagues, were protesting, lining the highways, demanding change.
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The resilience of these students in the face of unspeakable tragedy joined with others and resulted in a united nation of Americans in every city, marching against the failed polices that have children attending schools where they are not protected, where they are subject to active shooter drills, where parents pray each day as they drop them off let them come home today, where some days those prayers are not answered.
The tragedy of Newtown seemed to be the catalyst for an insidious epidemic that began to take root in society. President Biden, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy (D), and Senator Susan Collins (R) of Maine, are featured. Senator Murphy has taken up the mantel and advocated heavily in the senate chamber for a change in gun control laws. Slowly, possibly, one day, change will be realized.
We're fighting the same battle today as we were in the 1960s, society is convulsing, youth now, as then, are united by this cause, the war is in the streets of America, in the schoolyards of America, in the laws in America that fail the people each time one person is allowed to purchase an automatic weapon or a modified magazine, or an arsenal of munitions. There is more red-tape on getting a driver's license than on the purchase of an AR-15 which is the most common (and preferred) weapon used in mass shootings.
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The film follows Barden as he turns his tragedy into activism and begins to rediscover his lost passion for music. A Father's Promise is poignant, heartbreaking, tragic, and hopeful. The documentary weaves the unspeakable tragedies and key moments in the fight for change, with evocative, affecting, music that touches the soul.
A Father's Promise opens December 8, 2023, in select cities. See it.
Country: U.S.
Runtime: 97 minutes.
Language: English.
Director: Rick Korn.
Executive Produced by Grammy Award-Winner Sheryl Crow.
Featured: Mark Barden, Jackie Barden, James Barden, Natalie Barden, Nicole Hockley, Sheryl Crow, Karen Fairchild, former President Barack Obama, President Biden, Senator Chris Murphy, Senator Susan Collins, Paul McCartney, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School gun control advocates, and March for Our Lives, and features performances and interviews from Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, Darryl DMC McDaniels, Bernie Williams as well as music by John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Steve Winwood, David Shaw (The Revivalists), and others.
