Whether you’re a casual viewer or certified fan of the genre, our reviewers think these documentaries are worth knowing about.
Category: Documentary Films and Programs
-
The Complexities of Fighting for Democracy
“Night Is Not Eternal,” which follows the Cuban activist Rosa María Payá, is the rare nuanced political documentary that is likely to challenge every viewer’s perspective.
-
‘Witches’ Review: Redeeming the Wicked Witch
The director Elizabeth Sankey’s experience with postpartum depression anchors this documentary about the pop-cultural representation of witches.
-
‘Sabbath Queen’ Review: Capturing the Act of Questioning
Sandi DuBowski’s documentary about Rabbi Amichai Lau-Levie observes the making of a Jewish identity.
-
‘Porcelain War’ Review: A Defiant Dispatch From Ukraine
A new documentary follows artists in wartime, on and off the battlefield.
-
‘Ernest Cole: Lost and Found’ Review: Chronicling Apartheid and Beyond
Raoul Peck looks at the compelling South African photographer, who died in 1990, whose work gets a second life onscreen.
-
‘Bread & Roses’ Review: A Spirit of Resistance
Three Afghan women struggle for rights in Sahra Mani’s documentary of life under Taliban rule today.
-
‘A Photographic Memory’ Review: The Imperfect Past
A daughter hunts for the mother she never knew in an extraordinary, elegiac documentary.
-
The Best True Crime to Stream: The Fame Monster
Across television, film and podcasting, here are four picks that explore lesser-discussed crimes involving celebrities.
-
Allee Willis Documentary Sheds Light on Songwriter for Earth, Wind & Fire and ‘Friends’
‘The World According to Allee Willis’ shines a light on a musical artist whose creative spirit wasn’t limited to one genre or even to music.
-
‘Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes’ Review: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
A new documentary traces Humphrey Bogart’s development from stage actor to the embodiment of brooding cinematic cool.
-
‘Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands’ Review: The Wrong Stuff
The boy band stories in Tamra Davis’s documentary rarely intersect in a way that builds a meaningful or compelling perspective.