The Father I Never Knew

In this Christian documentary, five men who ended up in gangs, committing crime, and doing prison time during their younger years here lay the blame for their former waywardness on the absence of fathers during childhood. That absence is meant in a broad sense: fathers who disappeared, simply didn’t care, or were rendered feckless through drug and alcohol addiction. In each case, the subjects sincerely believe that the lack of male guidance during early days (including shortcomings in the areas of boundaries, discipline, and a father’s love) resulted in a huge hole in personal development that they subsequently tried to fill with street life, surrogate families offered by gang membership, and the feeling of faux accomplishment whenever they got away with something. Much of the film is overly focused on the subjects’ old crimes, including several re-enacted felonies that look somewhat silly. More could have been accomplished in this well-meaning project by simply keeping the spotlight on the very real national problem of fatherless sons. But the real aim of The Father I Never Knew is to point viewers toward Jesus, with a promise that by accepting Christ, lost boys can become adults who successfully break the chain of abandonment in their families. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)