DOCUMENTARY
The story of Robert F. Kennedy—hard-nosed campaign manager, crusading Attorney General, grieving brother of the slain President, charismatic senator cut down at only 42—has been told and retold. Still, this American Experience documentary uses the largely familiar material to fashion a portrait that makes us feel anew the loss of apolitical leader who seemed to be growing in wisdom and compassion when an assassin struck in 1968.
Though a major theme of RFK is Kennedy's deepening empathy for life's casualties, the film is particularly good at explaining his enmity toward his brother's successor, Lyndon Johnson. Publicly they clashed over Vietnam, but this fight was personal.
