The rise of streaming services has made documentary features much more accessible to general audiences. In the years since Netflix won its first Academy Award for Icarus, studios and streamers have taken note, and the format is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Plenty of recommendable titles were left off the nomination list, including Apple TV's Boys State and Netflix's Dick Johnson is Dead. However, the five that prevailed are all available to stream on major services, prior to the Oscar ceremony on April 25th. These are this year's nominees for Best Documentary Feature and where to stream them.
Back in 2015, a horrific nightclub fire in Bucharest made international headlines. Collective tells the much more wide-ranging and complicated story of the personal and political aftermath in all its heartbreaking and frustrating depth. The documentary touches on a broad spectrum of issues that hang in the air of many nations: public safety and trust, governmental and corporate corruption, protest and failing healthcare systems, all through the eyes of grieving family members and victims but mostly tireless investigative journalists.
Collective isn't the type of movie to put on for pleasure; the tragedy plus the heavy focus on process means the viewer has to endure body horror and the mind-numbingness of bureaucracy. Much of the run time is devoted to the effectiveness of disinfectants. However, this Romanian entry is an essential watch because of the insidious evils it exposes and the hopeful, instructive path forward it forges.
Collective is streaming on Hulu.
Many well-meaning films about differently-abled communities are too patronizing for their own good. Crip Camp treats its subjects with both the dignity and the edginess they deserve. This documentary, which combines archival footage with talking head interviews, begins as a bunch of disabled teens arrive at Camp Jened in 1971, ready to enjoy summer vacation. It's radical that such a place even existed. By the film's end, we see the same group of campers -- now young adults -- still fighting for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Crip Camp, which was executive produced by the Obamas, does an excellent job of illustrating the disability rights movement. However, it's just as huge of a win for representation in the way it depicts its central cast of characters as they flirt and goof off. It's a rare, gritty, feel-good documentary that everyone should see.
Crip Camp is streaming on Netflix.
For those who've had their fill of harrowing documentaries, there's The Mole Agent. The premise sounds more like the setup for a screwball comedy than a work of non-fiction, and whether it even really qualifies as a documentary might be up for debate. Recently widowed Sergio looks into an unusual job posting and winds up employed as an octogenarian spy. He's tasked with infiltrating a Chilean retirement home on behalf of his client, who believes her mother is being mistreated at the site.
The Mole Agent borders on sentimental, and the plucky soundtrack and editing punctuate the cute moments, like when Sergio's outfitted with his espionage gear, when he composes his communique, or when the women at the home fight for his attention at a party. But the end result is a charming mashup of genres and styles that serve as a unique and nuanced portrait of old age.
The Mole Agent is streaming on Hulu.
This film's odd title belies how lovely, restrained and effective My Octopus Teacher really is. Part human interest story, part nature documentary, it captures a year in the lives of free-diver Craig Foster and the young red octopus he befriends. Foster is struggling with his mental health at the film's outset. When he happens upon the octopus, he decides to visit her every day as a means of re-establishing some kind of connection.
Watching My Octopus Teacher is almost a meditative experience. Craig's progress is slow but incredible. Eventually, the octopus trusts him enough to allow contact and accompany her on hunts. But Foster also witnesses the fragility of life. It's that impression that resonates, not only in the way we think about the meaning of our own existence but that of our planet and of the other creatures we share it with.
My Octopus Teacher is streaming on Netflix.
This year's frontrunner, Time, is also the most timely of all the nominees, and one of the more original and artfully made documentaries in recent memory. The film takes up the themes of systemic racism and prison reform. These themes are no doubt on the public's mind, but Time's achingly intimate and familial tone makes the viewer care in ways they likely hadn't before (even if they thought they did).
Time's protagonist is Fox Rich, who handed director Garrett Bradley a bag of home video footage that led to the documentary being made. She'd been fighting to have her husband paroled for almost twenty years. In that time she was also raising awareness about the disparities in sentencing between white people and people of color, as well as a host of other under-discussed challenges that ex-convicts face. Time might be presented in grainy black and white, but it shows one of the most pressing issues of our time in the high definition it requires to understand and address it.
Time is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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