We all love documentaries because they connect us more deeply with the characters that we are watching than any other medium. That these are not fictional characters but real people who have lived and breathed the story we are watching lends us a sense of imagination and authenticity. Historical footage, photographs, pre-recorded audio, and interviews with censored faces create a lot of intrigue, and hence prove to be an extremely involving viewing experience.
There are plenty of documentaries and docuseries available online that cover a diverse range of subjects from music to crime to history and sport. Listed below are 12 of the best, must watch documentaries.
1. Seven Worlds, One Planet
Seven Worlds, One Planet is a docuseries from the BBC Natural History Unit. It is presented by Sir David Attenborough, easily one of the most recognizable figures in the world of broadcast. The show is shot as a seven-part series, in which each episode focuses on one continent.
Over 1794 days, 92 shoots across 41 countries were edited down to 7 episodes – one for each continent – with the involvement of more than 1500 people. It features remarkable new animal behaviors from all continents, including the baking plains of Africa and the frozen waters of Antarctica.
2. My Octopus Teacher
If you’re looking for a soothing, warm and uplifting watch, you should definitely check out this lovely documentary. As the name suggests, this documentary is set underwater, where filmmaker Craig Foster ventured to explore kelp forests in South Africa, only to discover the heartwarming, vulnerable goodness of octopi.
The movie follows the filmmaker as he resolves to interact with octopi every day and learn as much as he can about the creatures. Through some stunning underwater camera work, we see an intelligent animal finding its way to survive in the dangerous kelp forest. The bond between the human-octopus pair makes little sense on its surface, but as the film goes on, you’ll find yourself genuinely empathizing.
3. McQueen
This documentary will appeal to you whether you are an intelligent consumer of fashion and the culture around it, or not. It is a biographical portrait of British designer Alexander McQueen, a story told with stunning visual language that pays a solid tribute to McQueen’s genius.
Apart from his impeccable, revolutionary design sense, McQueen was known for two things – his showmanship and, much later, the inner turmoil that would consume him. Both these ideas are dealt with intricately – softly, even – such that the visual representation of his runway shows do complete justice to the spectacles he would present, while the archival footage and interviews of friends and family paint a lovely, complex portrait of a complex man.
4. Flee
Flee is an animated documentary, formed on the foundation of the filmmaker and the subject being friends as teenagers, and then meeting up as adults; this brings a subtle, but poignant layer of vulnerability that brings about the powerful story of Amin, an Afghan refugee who had fled to Denmark in the 80s.
Twenty-two years later. Amin is high-achieving academic, with a seemingly settled life, but one which the filmmaker shows to be riddled with anxiety from a long-kept secret, from the moment he fled as a child refugee. The trauma comes to the surface, although with little invasive maneuvering on the filmmaker’s part, and becomes the bedrock for a movie that ultimately borders on Amin losing everything, including his relationship with his potential husband.
5. March of the Penguins
This idiosyncratic documentary won an Academy Award for the best documentary feature in 2005, and it’s easy to see why. It focuses on the Antarctic, starting in the summer when emperor penguins locate hard ground to begin the mating season. This breeding ground, however, drifts further and further away by winter, requiring breeding penguins to travel tens of difficult kilometers to reach there in time. This film is visually stunning and has remarkable story-telling.
6. Free Solo
This documentary is centered around professional solo climber Alex Hannod and his singular dream to be complete the first solo climb of the El Capitan’s at Yosemite National Park – without a rope.
The film traces several points of Hannod’s life, including a tight situation with girlfriend Sanni McCandless where an accident means the rope she tries to feed him doesn’t reach him, resulting in a fall and a fracture that makes him contemplate breaking up with her. Such dilemmas, including the ethical dilemma of filming a man who might die on camera, all add up to the sheer tension of what Hannod wants to do – climb the face of a 900-metre mountain without equipment. It is spellbinding, will keep you in your seat, and brings a payoff that is well worth the wait.
7. Three Identical Strangers
This is the story of identical triplets Edward Galland, David Kellman, and Robert Shafran, who were separated at birth through adoption. When they turn 19, they happen to meet by chance. But what seems like a coincidence at first becomes increasingly menacing to them as they set about trying to retrace their origins.
On this path, the brothers come to realize that their adoption – or separation, as it were – was part of an undisclosed scientific study. A tense and, at times, sad story unravels from this point.
8. The Last Dance
The Last Dance is a culmination of Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls’ decision to allow a documentary crew to track them in 1997. Almost 23 years later, the final documentary released on Netflix, which makes an accurate portrait of many things we already knew about Michael Jordan – his single-minded determination to win, his almost insatiable desire for success, and an almost annoying desire to be the best. Again and again.
But what makes this documentary even more enticing is the fact that it shows Jordan as a human being – it shows jealousy, pettiness, long-held grudges, and at times a dark villainy. Interspersed with footage of some of the greatest triumphs of his career, some exhilarating moments of pure athletic genius, and his own running narration, this series is very hard to pause once you begin.
9. Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
This 2018 documentary directed by Marina Zenovich celebrates the life and career of one of the most loved comedians, Robin Williams, using rare and exclusive archival footage, Robin’s own voice and also featuring various interviews with the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and David Letterman, among others. The film has plenty of little-known clips from Williams’ stand-up routines and many devastating moments studying the man’s fears, insecurities, all interspersed with the joyous high-points of his life.
10. Kedi
Cats and a documentary. Do we have your attention? We’re all aware of how cats were treated like royalty in certain parts of the world in the past, and often make that connection when we examine their behaviors in the modern world. This documentary decided to go deeper down that path, to Turkey, where their royalty status still persists.
Ceyda Torun and crew went to the streets of Turkey for this, tracking individual cats as they live their lives – on the street, in houses, and a wide range of such intersections which required a high level of consent from people whose worlds these cats grace on a daily basis.
What emerged was the distinct lives of 7 cats in Istanbul, whose personalities (cat-tonalities?) shone through with quirkiness and warmth, and whose contributions to the happiness of the people around them became more and more evident as the film went on. This is a must watch documentary for anyone who does cats.
11. Amy
This is the chronicle of British singer and song-writer Amy Winehouse’s life, her career before and after it bloomed, and her struggle with substance abuse which led to her eventual death.
Before Amy Winehouse became a superstar who tragically spiraled to her death in 2011 at age 27, from alcohol poisoning, she was a regular girl with an extraordinary gift of talent. Asif Kapadia’s award-winning documentary uses footage captured by friends and family to show her two lives: before and after stardom. It is, hands down, one of the best documentaries on YouTube.
12. Murder Among The Mormons
Murder among the Mormons is available as a mini-series on Netflix. The story follows Mark Hofmann, and investigates the church bombings of 1985 that he masterminded – and makes an interesting finding while it does this, that the bombings too were borne out of his notorious skill for forgery. This gripping story takes many turns and uses archival footage, present-day interviews with people who used to call Hoffman a friend, and weaves a very compelling story into the extent of his crime.
