SXSW 2021: The Lost Sons
Ursula Macfarlane's The Lost Sons is a harrowing, disturbing, and often inspiring documentary that touches on the tip of an iceberg only to reveal a humongous level of story waiting in the wings.
On an entertainment level, Macfarlane's documentary is fascinating. Each and every turn offers a thunderous and often captivating story of lies and deceit. The theme of truth is constantly exposed, and The Lost Sons deepen and deepen into an undeniably frightening mystery but an unequivocally fantastic story. However, this is the surface level description. For any person interested in the fascination of a documentary, such as with The Three Strangers or anything that has recently been released on NETFLIX, The Lost Sons is an excellent and immersive documentary. But what about under the surface?
In such a fascinating rabbit hole of information, it can sometimes be challenging to associate this story's real-world weight and impact on its subjects. Macfarlane does a fantastic job of implementing humanity and conscious discussion on the real-world effects of this story, and this is where the subject Paul Fronczak comes into play.
As an actor in his personal life, it is clear that Fronczak understands perfectly when to deliver a timed and calculated monologue. He pauses and reflects in emotional poignancy and undoubtedly elevates the film in moments of reprieve. The story and insight into the distress this conundrum has caused Fronczak is evidently put forward. His personal life and inner emotional strength are put under considerable amounts of stress and torment, and The Lost Sons is never afraid to touch on trauma. In fact, Macfarlane's film does an outstanding job of exploring the emotional anguish that has engulfed Fronczak and this story – touching on involved third parties with respect and poignancy.
Nevertheless, this is not always a positive and warming story. Macfarlane's film will leave many viewers cold with its finale, one that does not have a complete finish at the end of this sentence. There is undoubtedly more to tell in the future, and while a follow-up might be best to bring finality to Fronczak's story, with so much material on offer, it feels like stichting this into a feature run time does a slight disservice to the story at hand. If Macfarlane and Fronczak can finally put a full stop to this story, it might be best to do so in long-form content.
