Catullo’s documentary 4000 Days is one of those docs that captures the action on the ground. It’s a bit of a gamble, as you spend years following these parents only to risk losing everything at the end. Catullo worked on this story for over a decade, and what started as a “project” became his life’s passion. Documentaries rarely change the law, but can this one actually pull it off?
The film offers two revelations. I’ve always known about hazing culture, but only through television shows like Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. They were always fictional tales. Here, the stories are real, and the emotion and heartache just cut you where it hurts. At one point, Gary DeVercelly Sr. talks to a group of students about the death of his son and makes the bold claim that none of these students can feel their pain. Sure, they can intellectualize it, but the only ones who know are those who have also lost their children to hazing. Though we can’t understand these parents, Catullo gets us pretty damn close.
TJ and Kim Burch stand at their son Nolan’s grave in 4000 Days.
“Documentaries rarely change the law, but can this one actually pull it off?”
The other revelation is how the sausage is made. In other words, what it’s like to pass legislation in this country. The system is designed to demoralize you, push you to the brink of despair, then kick you down for your trouble. In vain, they tried to change the university administration, which turned a blind eye and deflected any wrongdoing onto their art. Then law enforcement appeared to protect the criminals rather than the victim by attacking the deceased and their parents. Let’s also not forget that universities have highly paid lawyers who, ironically, graduated from these universities and were part of these fraternities. The only way to win is through sheer willpower and determination, and these parents were running short on both.
In the end, these deaths should never have happened. Documentarian Daniel Edward Catullo III shines a light on a nationwide problem, then shifts that spotlight to a group of parents determined to change America’s culture.
For screening information, visit the 4000 Days official website.
"…The system is designed to demoralize you…then kick you down."
