Documentary

In a time when so many big-budget blockbuster hopefuls are prepackaged as the start of an entire universe of films before they arrive in theaters, it’s nearly impossible for someone like yours truly to imagine…

With the rise of COVID-19 shutting down indoor movie theaters, drive-ins saw something of a rebirth in 2020-21. It was the only option for entertainment for many people. A way to both go out and…

In reflecting on the year, a film that always comes up in my mind is Audrey Diwan’s 1960s abortion drama, Happening. Many would point to the film’s startlingly prescient release just weeks before the Dobbs…

One of the first notable visuals in Laura Poitras’s landmark documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, is an excerpt slideshow from Nan Goldin’s legendary photography collection, “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” — as good a time…

When you envision the legacy of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, you’re probably familiar with his distinct improvisation style — his winding melodies, harmonies, techniques, and dissonances that have since gone down as hallmarks in jazz…

An expansive, white-walled studio. A camera crew helmed by director Ruth Beckermann. A lavish, pink-red sofa that’s previously been used for erotic films. And 100 men, aged from 16 all the way to 99, who…

January 9th, 1997. David Bowie stands before a massive crowd at Madison Square Garden at a special concert event for his 50th birthday and exclaims, “I don’t know where I am going from here, but…

The reported heinous acts committed by the Russian government sound like something straight out of a 1970s political thriller. And that’s probably exactly how they like it. “If you want to kill someone,” Alexei Navalny…

Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love is truly a sensory overload, and not just because of its staggering archival footage of gorgeous volcanoes. On top of that, it’s edited like a French New Wave film to the tune…

Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time is not a conventional documentary, though that was the original intention. Its inception started nearly forty years ago, in 1982. Robert B. Weide had just finished a well-received PBS documentary…

If you have never heard about Albert Speer, this documentary is a great introduction to his life. He grew up in a bourgeois family and studied architecture and eventually became a confidant of Hitler. He…

Capturing the spirit and history of the French working class over the past 70 years is a gargantuan task of historical retelling and curation — especially if it’s through an 80-minute documentary strung together solely…

The world of online fame is a strange one. There are people out there with millions of fans, real fans that are actively subscribed to the output of artists and sometimes literally invested in their…

It was November of 1970. Dennis Hopper, hot off the success of his counterculture masterpiece Easy Rider and deep into post-production of his second feature, The Last Movie travels from Taos, New Mexico to Los Angeles…

When life gets you down, sometimes it seems like there’s no road up. Co-directors Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel take an in-depth look into The Cara Program, an employment support group that aids struggling Chicagoans…

It’s hard to deny the title has some punch to it. The peculiar world of chessboxing, a sport determined to find the smartest toughest guy. The art of chessboxing is finding the balance between two…

Take one look at, say, Netflix’s vast documentary catalog, and you’ll instantly realize that the true-crime documentary genre has found itself in a state of oversaturation. From the litany of same-ish docs on streaming services…

Nature documentaries often take a wonder-first approach to storytelling: the narration and cinematography are acutely focused on portraying the majesty of nature, the beauty of its subjects, and the stunning worlds that exist parallel to…

The nature of consciousness is a complex topic. One that humanity has tried to view through every lens that we’ve created or discovered. Religion, philosophy, psychology, biology, chemistry, and psychedelics, just to name a few.…

Eccentricity and innovation have always been defining features of any given artist — even more so for documentaries that specifically go out of their way to train a lens on them. Whether it be the…

I will never forget how I felt the moment I finished reading Capote’s In Cold Blood. I was overwhelmed by sadness and disappointment, not because the book was bad, but that I was aware that it…

The Emily mentioned in the title is Emily Levine, an actress, stand-up comedian, TV writer, and lecturer. She was known for her smart sense of humor which she used in her lectures. As you can…

Anna Mae Bullock was born 50 miles outside of Memphis in a small town called Brownsville on November 11th, 1939. She would eventually become known for two distinct reasons: as an icon in the music…

It’s not often that you watch a documentary that is genuinely informative and also includes a talking head drinking a Tecate. In life, it’s all about the simple pleasures. Seldom does a documentary instantly feel…

Before I saw this movie, I had no idea who David Wojnarowicz was. Its title was also a complete mystery to me. But then I saw the documentary, and I decided to do some background…

I am, of course, familiar with Jane Fonda the actress. Indeed, I have admired her in dramas such as The China Syndrome and especially They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Honestly, I even enjoyed her in…

When the opportunity arose to watch They Call Me Dr. Miami, I jumped on it faster than a half-price BBL. Dr. Miami has always been one of the most fascinating people on the internet to…

Sports movies can provide great insight into foreign cultures. Almost every country in the world weaves sports into its culture to some degree, even relying on them greatly to present a strong national image to…

Animation is a powerful tool in a filmmaker’s arsenal. Sure, many of the most popular and successful animated films are under the ‘kids’ movies’ banner, but there are many which take on thought-provoking, introspective ideas.…

Creating an intimate documentary that goes deep into an individual’s backstory can be one of the most difficult types of film to do right. The level of intimacy necessary can be difficult to capture and dip…