I recently watched “Abducted in Plain Sight” a documentary about the abduction of Jan Broberg. Jan and the Broberg family became close friends with their neighbor and his wife, Robert Berchtold, who very quickly became a close and trusted friend and almost every family member to the Broberg family. The film shows the progression in which Robert - referred to as B - becomes fixated on Jan and slowly begins to manipulate her and sexually assault her, almost over 200 times within the course of 4 years. The documentary also provides the audience with multiple different perspectives on the case. Not only is Jan Broberg narrating almost the entire documentary, but Mary Ann Broberg and Bob Broberg are also explaining their involvement in the case and how their close relationship with “B” leads to the abduction of their child. 

There were several aspects of the documentary that I liked. To begin, I loved all of the b-roll that the film provided. Like most documentaries, in order to truly poetry the story being told, photos, videos, and audios from when the experience took place are crucial; this documentary was chock full of it. We would hear Mary Ann Broberg explain a certain event and while we listened, we would see photos and video footage which was very helpful to view as a viewer. It made me feel like I was actually with this family at the moment. I also liked how many recorded phone conversations the film had. Being able to actually hear the voices of each person from when the abduction took place in the late ’70s made the accuracy of the film even better. The film was very suspenseful. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next in this case. I think that the director wanted to make the audience feel like the film was going to end at a certain point but then keep it going, almost to create a sense of timelessness and a never-ending feeling to the documentary, which heightened the seriousness of the documentary/case itself. The cinematography was excellent. Each interview shot was very well lit and highlighted the true emotion of each family member involved in the case. It all felt very raw - the use of not cutting certain clips and leaving the pauses of silence while Mary Ann or Jan got emotional, the use of sad music playing when a sad moment occurred - it just made this documentary perfectly hard to watch. The case was incredibly disturbing and heartbreaking, but the way the film was made, allowed me to want to watch, despite certain times when I wanted to look away.  

Overall, I think this documentary is definitely worth watching. Not only is the story itself unique and crazy interesting, but the way it is made keeps you on the edge of your seat. From the rawness of the editing, the use of incredibly real and authentic b-roll from, and the heartbreaking narration from Jan and her entire family, this documentary sheds light on just how harmful it can be for not only one person but an entire family and community when someone you thought you could trust, let’s their true colors show. Bob went from being a welcoming neighbor, family man, and friend, to a mentally disturbed predator. The documentary taught me about the importance of family, being strong, and never giving up hope. I would totally recommend this film.