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Marketta Carucci
Documentaries connect us all. Even in cases where the film's overall focus is narrowed to fit a pre-conceived narrative, there's an unmistakable feeling of intimacy, of being let into a filmmaker's brain for a quick flash. In using snippets of the real world, in a variety of forms, great documentaries use images of universal, familiar existence to impart something tremendously personal. Netflix has a bounty of great documentaries that cover a diverse range of subjects, from true crime to sports to even filmmaking. Below, we've assembled a list of what we believe are the best documentaries on Netflix right now.
The Deepest Breath is a documentary film that captures the dangers and glory of one of the deadliest extreme sports in the water: freediving. Filmmaker Laura McGann (The 8th) explores the necessary training and undeniable strength needed to compete in the water sport, focusing on an Italian competitor named Alessia Zecchini. The documentary features archive footage of the woman intent on earning the title of woman to free dive deepest, as well as interviews with expert safety diver Stephen Keenan.
The Deepest Breath has received critical acclaim for its treatment of the subject and its spectacular footage of the ocean depths, which is coupled with the story of a real-life tragedy. As any good sports documentary should, The Deepest Breath showcases the passion and skill required to win in such a demanding arena.
A documentary keen on examining the wild relationship between the father and son at the center of its story, The Saint of Second Chances is a redemption tale akin to sports movies in the fiction world. The film features a playful narrative that adds to its appeal, and it has received widespread critical acclaim. A no-holds-barred look into the rifts between family members and the part that the media can play in such cases, The Saint of Second Chances holds an almost universal relevance to the lives of viewers and can impact how we all view our loved ones.
Directed by Henry Roosevelt, Take Care of Maya follows the harrowing true story of Maya Kowalski, who was diagnosed with a rare illness and prescribed Ketamine for her pain. The treatment works for a time, but when her symptoms resurface, her new doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital force her into state custody, suspecting her parents of abuse. This kicks off a deeper investigation into the medical system that quickly snowballs to expose much bigger cracks in the American child welfare organization.
In a time when virality and social media influence have become an ever-growing industry, The American Meme is a documentary film that explores the many facets of this world, both the highs and the lows. Director Bert Marcus walks us through the recent history of influencer culture and the way capitalism has created an entire industry that relies on cultivating parasocial relationships that live and die by the like button. The American Meme follows some of the biggest personalities whose careers were built through online buzz, like Paris Hilton, DJ Khaled, and Dane Cook.
Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story is an unexpected journey into an often overlooked sport, following Leo Baker as he ascends to the elite heights of professional skateboarding. Directors Nicola Marsh and Giovanni Reda explore the competitive nature of skate culture, which grew from the neighborhood skate park to the world stage, quickly becoming an exclusive inner circle. The film catches up with Baker in the run-up to the 2020 Olympics, which was the very first time that skateboarding was included in the Summer Olympics.
Through the documentary, Marsh and Reda allow Leo Baker to reveal how his skills took him to the top, forging a path for others to follow while building an inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community. A Netflix Original, Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story won the Audience Award for Documentary Feature at the 2022 Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art is an enthralling documentary on the largest case of art fraud in American history. Through the film, director Barry Avrich reveals how an ingenious $80 million con was perpetrated through the famous and reputable Knoedler & Company. The question becomes how much did those employed by Knoedler know. Were they duped like their clientele, or did they willingly look the other way because they had become complicit in a profitable scheme?
This is precisely what this captivating con-artist documentary is all about, and Made You Look does an excellent job unfolding this suspenseful real-life crime story. The film received positive reviews for its lively storytelling and the fascinating mystery at its heart. It's low stakes for the viewer (after all, we're probably not wealthy art collectors or dealers), high-stakes for those involved, and thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.
While you may want to go for the latest technology when it comes to getting a new cell phone or video game console, you should be more circumspect when it comes to what you put in your body. In their 2018 documentary The Bleeding Edge, writer-director Kirby Dick and producers Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy examine the medical device industry and discover (shocker) that capitalism has inserted its tentacles into the FDA, the regulatory agency that should be overseeing the devices that doctors are implanting into patients.
With a strong mix of personal stories and pulling back to explore the larger issues, The Bleeding Edge will change the way you interact with your doctor the next time you need to have some kind of invasive procedure. The film was a critical darling upon its release and has maintained a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. While it is wrong that this burden has been pushed onto patients, at least this documentary arms you with the knowledge you need so that you can avoid some horrific outcomes.
As you may have guessed from the title, Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed is a documentary that chronicles how the titular artist became a pop culture icon by accident and covers his philosophy of painting. A Netflix Original documentary directed by Joshua Rof (Sasquatch), the film features interviews with Ross' son and best friend, as well as others who knew him. It also gets a bit into his personal life, showing us the man behind the canvas. But the main thrust of the movie is the business dealings that took advantage of Ross and the fallout from his death.
The first thing to know about the documentary is that it does not reveal that this beloved figure was a bad man. But it does uncover the disturbing truth behind the business of Bob Ross Inc., specifically what happened after Ross' untimely death. Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed is an intriguing and fascinating film that received critical praise for how it shines a light on the untold story of a beloved celebrity. - Adam Chitwood
The best Netflix documentaries are a great option when fictional TV shows and movies aren't enough. Pulled from actual events, these nonfiction shows and movies give us plenty of pathos and beautiful moments of nature to dive into.
The documentary follows disillusioned filmmaker Craig Foster as he looks for meaning in his life. He begins taking daily snorkeling excursions into a South African Kelp Forest where he forms an unlikely bond with an octopus who he sees almost every day on his journeys.
As Foster delves into the octopus's world, he witnesses her intelligence, resourcefulness, and the challenges of her short life. This newfound friendship becomes a turning point for Foster himself. Witnessing the octopus's resilience chips away at his cynicism, fostering a newfound openness towards both the natural world and those around him.
This series uses state-of-the-art, low-light cameras to capture never-before-seen animal behaviors and includes stunning footage from around the world, from the dark, tree-dense jungle to the moonlit plains.
This harrowing documentary finds a brave nurse unearthing a shocking truth within the walls of a local hospital. Teaming up with two determined small-town detectives, she goes undercover to unveil the dark secrets of a colleague she once called a friend. Fellow nurse Charles Cullen soon emerges as one of the most notorious serial killers in American history, linked to a series of inexplicable deaths through mysterious lab results.
Kai, a homeless hitchhiker, catapulted to viral fame after seemingly rescuing a woman from an assailant using a hatchet. Ironically, it was the same man who had given him a lift just moments before. The incident and Kai's raw recounting of the event in a spontaneous interview captured the public's attention, though everything was not as it seemed at first. Kai's interview soon ends up being the key to his imprisonment after details come to light that reveal Kai is not who he appears to be, nor is his version of events the way things actually went down.
"The Deepest Breath" profiles Italian freediver Alessia Zecchini and her quest to break a world record in freediving with the help of safety diver Stephen Keenan. The documentary explores their intense bond and the extreme risks and rewards associated with freediving.
Many have sworn off seafood after viewing Seaspiracy, and understandably so. Released in 2021, this documentary explores the ecological consequences of industrial fishing, exposing the profound harm inflicted upon marine ecosystems by human activities.
This comprehensive look at the global conflict of World War II through rare colorized footage and firsthand accounts is a harrowing watch. Giving voice to multiple perspectives from all sides of the war, this documentary finds soldiers recounting the brutal realities of combat and life on the front lines, while civilians describe the struggles they faced on the home front. The filmmakers colorized archival clips to bring an extra dimension of realism to the black-and-white images for a complete look back at the war that changed the world.
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