Today is the birthday of acclaimed documentarian Michael Moore, the man behind one of my all-time favorite documentary films. Therefore I felt that today would be a fitting day to post a list of the very best documentaries that I have come across. Some of these pieces are eye-opening and depressing looks at the darkest aspects of humanity, while others are incredibly uplifting real-life stories of humanity at its best - all of them are very informative and highly recommended to fans of the genre. While the focus of this list is specifically documentary films and not documentary TV shows, I want to use this intro segment to give a shout-out to Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (2020). I just finished watching it, and it was awesome.
Here are my honorable mentions: In The Absence (2019), Kuningas Litmanen (2012), Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool (2019), Tavarataivas (2013)
10. David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)
David Lynch is one of my favorite filmmakers, as avid readers of my blog are probably aware. This documentary details his early life in a fascinating way, shedding light on the events that shaped his unique vision and strange artistic style. Lynch himself is interviewed throughout the film, as we see photographs and pictures of the various eras he is talking about. The film doesn't even delve into his film career very much; the making of his first feature film Eraserhead acts as the climax to the documentary's story. The Art Life focuses specifically on Lynch's upbringing, and the various factors that caused him to go down the path of strange art and filmmaking. It was a truly illuminating thing to watch, and I definitely recommend it to all fans of David Lynch, filmmaking, or the visual arts.
9. The Great Hack (2019)
Sure, we've all seen the news. We all know that our data is being misused, targeted ads are scary, Facebook has a questionable hand in all of this, and somehow this convoluted matter has to do with Russian hackers and the 2016 presidential election. I can't speak for people who know more than I do about data collection, but at least on my behalf this was all very confusing and hard to grasp when it started to flood the news. The best way to learn about this issue properly in a way that helped me understand the scope of it was, unsurprisingly, watching a movie. The movie in question was Netflix's The Great Hack, which explores in great detail just how the Cambridge Analytica company used massive data violations to tailor and target advertising in order to manipulate people politically. I'm guessing everyone who has read about this issue knows that it's a problem, but watching this eye-opening documentary will help you realize just how huge and threatening of a problem it actually is. The Great Hack sure isn't fun to watch, but it is a very important piece of media that sheds light on a very important issue.
8. For The Love Of Spock (2016)
You have to be a pretty darn good actor, playing a pretty darn well-written role, for there to be an entire documentary about said role, filled to the brim with actors, directors, superfans, NASA scientists and others talking about how legendary you were and how your role impacted their lives. But that's exactly what Leonard Nimoy's performance as Spock in the original Star Trek series and its follow-up movies did.
If you've read my blog, you might have picked up on the fact that I'm quite the Star Trek fan myself. I've always been a fan of Nimoy's iconic performance, but this documentary truly gave some perspective to just how perfect and unique he was for that role, and just how much of a positive impact an acting performance in a television series can have on the world of fiction, and the lives of people watching. For The Love Of Spock is a wonderful tribute to Leonard Nimoy, an amazing exploration of the world of acting, and a thoroughly moving family portrait as director Adam Nimoy interviews people about his father and learns a whole new side of him shortly after his passing. The central thesis of the film seems to be that Leonard Nimoy did indeed, as is quite fitting, live long and prosper.
7. Cowspiracy (2014)
If you're an environmentalist and/or vegan, this film quite likely contains a lot of stuff that you already know, but it might provide a lot of powerful facts and statistics to help win arguments with your friends. If you're a big fan of eating meat, this might be the most unsettling horror film you ever see. Jokes aside, I do think we could all learn quite a lot from this shocking yet honest exploration of the meat and dairy industries and their negative impact on the environment. I know some people who have actually credited certain life choices (like going fully vegan) to this movie, which is quite a powerful statement for a documentary that doesn't exaggerate and stays in facts. Even if you don't end up changing your life because of this film, it will surely make you think, and isn't that what the documentary genre is all about?
6. Holy Wars (2010)
Watching this film in my high school's religion class was quite the unforgettable experience. For this documentary, writer&director Stephen Marshall had quite a hands-on approach to exploring the theme of religious fundamentalism: he found a Muslim who advocated global jihad, a fundamentalist Christian on the mission to evangelize the world's Muslims, and put them in a room together so they could talk. For someone who enjoys a good philosophical debate (such as myself), you can't get much more interesting than this premise. Educational and horizon-broadening at times, gripping and depressing at others, and thoroughly powerful and though-provoking throughout its runtime, Holy Wars is a deep and memorable documentary that definitely earns my stamp of approval.
5. Citizenfour (2014)
This documentary about Edward Snowden's infamous whistleblower actions has an intensity to it that is absolutely unmatched in the documentary genre. That is largely because Citizenfour was filmed during the major events, not after them - Snowden had just left the US with the fallout of his actions still very much in the making, when he met with documentarian Laura Poitras and reporters Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill to document his reasoning and actions. You can feel the tension as the man isn't at all sure about what will happen to him, and how his country will react to the documents about NSA's illegal surveillance that he leaked in the name of national security.
If you're confused about the admittedly hard-to-follow Snowden case, this film will clear many things up and make you see the bigger picture. If you have strong opinions of this polarizing figure, this film will be a philosophical viewing experience that brings out many different sides and makes one think. If you think documentaries are boring compared to other movies, this movie will very possibly change your mind. Citizenfour is a thoroughly exciting movie about a real-life story that brings most fictional thrillers to shame with its complex morals, high-stakes tension and escalating plot.
4. Searching For Sugarman (2012)
The true story here is so incredible, that you couldn't really make a bad documentary out of it if you tried. And combining that story with Malik Bendjelloul's expert directing and a strong script that tells the story in a clever way lead to this film being one of the best in its genre, and a very deserved Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature. If you're not familiar with the story, well, please watch this movie. What I will say without spoiling everything is that the basic premise is the story of a man who recorded an album in the 1970's, only to retire from music after the album didn't make much money. But somehow copies of the album made it to South Africa, where they gained popularity up to the point that this guy was bigger than Elvis in South Africa. And for years, he didn't know about this, due to some shady money-hoarding by his record company.
Trust me, that didn't spoil the movie, as all of that is found out very early on. The entire story gets even crazier. Watch for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
3. Man On Wire (2008)
"Follow your dreams" is definitely a good message, but it starts to feel less profound more like a cliché after you've heard it in a hundred different songs and seen it in a hundred different movies. When that has happened, it's the right time to watch Man On Wire - a film that conveys the message of following one's dreams better than hardly any other piece of media. Many movies about said message will make you smile and think that it sure would be cool to do something you always dreamed of - this film will quite likely get you off the couch to go and actively pursue said goals.
Man On Wire tells the story of Philippe Petit, a French trapeze artist who saw a picture of the under-construction World Trade Center as a child, and decided that he'd walk a tightrope between the twin towers some day. And then the dude actually did that. The documentary feels like a heist thriller at times, as we follow the tense break-in into the WTC that was required for this "art crime of the century", as well as the breathtaking results of Petit's stunt. This documentary will show that a real-life story doesn't always need tiger merchants, hitmen and drug kingpins to be absolutely insane and mind-blowing - sometimes all you need is a dream, a few willing friends and a tightrope wire.
2. Won't You Be My Neighbor (2018)
It's funny how nearly all the best documentaries fall either into the "Extremely depressing revelations of humanity at its absolute worst" -category (See #9, #7, and #1 on this list) or the "Extremely uplifting true story of humanity at its absolute best" -category (See #8, #3 and most importantly, this one). The very best example of uplifting and inspiring documentaries for me is Won't You Be My Neighbor - the documentary of children's television icon Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers was way before my time (and mainly popular in the US) so I never watched his series growing up - I hardly knew anything about him before seeing this documentary. I watched it because it had gotten such great reviews, with the preconceived notion of Mr. Rogers as some funny guy who talked about neighbors and who Tom Hanks was gonna play in an upcoming movie. Well, turns out, there was more to Fred Rogers than that.
What really blew my mind was just how good a person this man was. The film is filled with his family members, as well as people who watched his show as kids, talking about the profound impact he had on their lives. The documentary made me want to be a better person, and that's pretty much the best kind of impact a movie can have. I think all of us could learn something from Mr. Rogers's visionary approach to compassion, caring, and just making people feel better in hard times. The film has so many beautiful moments, memorable quotes and inspiring interviews, that I had just the widest smile on my face once it was over. I saw a review of this film on IMDB, titled "The Best Superhero Movie of 2018", and, well, that pretty much sums it up.
1. Bowling For Columbine (2002)
If I did a blog post on the most depressing films I've seen, this Oscar-winning Michael Moore documentary would be battling for the #1 spot with the likes of Schindler's List. As much as watching this film bummed me out, I remain very glad of having watched it. Much like with Cowspiracy and The Great Hack, it had a lot of information that I knew beforehand, but seeing it all laid out in this format really helped to see the full scope of the issue at hand. Looking at the gun issue in America and the complex reasons behind it, Moore's documentary reveals a lot of things that have gone terribly wrong in my other home country, but also just how hard those things are to fix in the current situation. A truly heartbreaking and sobering film to watch, I believe Bowling For Columbine should be mandatory viewing for every U.S. politician - especially the ones who fail to grasp the gravity of this particular issue, which has only gotten a lot worse since the release of this documentary. No matter what your political beliefs are, this film will present a lot of cold hard facts that really make one think.
No other documentary has moved me to tears or made me feel so angry, even though the film is presented in an objective and straight-forward manner - the subject matter is so captivating, that Bowling For Columbine becomes very emotional viewing without really trying to be. Filled with heart-stopping moments and insane facts, watching this film might very well ruin your day, but might still be worth it, as a sort of breathtaking reality check.
Thank you for reading! Next week I'll be celebrating another filmmaker's birthday (Jane Campion this time; I have to resort to people's birthdays in order to make my lists topical as there are no new movie releases as of now) by listing the top 10 best films directed by women!
No other documentary has moved me to tears or made me feel so angry, even though the film is presented in an objective and straight-forward manner - the subject matter is so captivating, that Bowling For Columbine becomes very emotional viewing without really trying to be. Filled with heart-stopping moments and insane facts, watching this film might very well ruin your day, but might still be worth it, as a sort of breathtaking reality check.
Thank you for reading! Next week I'll be celebrating another filmmaker's birthday (Jane Campion this time; I have to resort to people's birthdays in order to make my lists topical as there are no new movie releases as of now) by listing the top 10 best films directed by women!
No comments:
Post a Comment