Watching documentaries is a great way to stay informed about what’s really going on in the world: from unsolved murders to political corruption to the silent escalation of global crises. But non-fiction films should not be totally disappointing. For Netflix subscribers who love documents – but just can’t imagine sitting through something heavy right now – here is a list of enlightening, entertaining and even uplifting documentaries to brighten up your darkest days.
“Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story”
Actress Hedy Lamarr has lived such a remarkable life that almost any stretch of 10 years could make her own fascinating documentary. From her debut in Europe to making scandalous art films, to her reinvention in Hollywood as a glamorous and exotic woman at the head – and later as an independent film producer – Lamarr took more chances in her career than the average screen queen of the 20th century. “Bombshell” covers all of this, and also touches on his tumultuous personal life. But his main subject is Lamarr’s hobby as an amateur inventor who helped develop some of the principles that then led to our current wireless technology.
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“GLOW: The story of the magnificent wrestling ladies”
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“Paris is burning”
Director Jennie Livingston has spent years documenting the 1980s New York drag culture, where gays and transgender people of color split into clans or houses and performed in fashion and fashion contests. elaborate dance. Livingston’s subjects speak frankly about the difficulty of making ends meet in an expensive and exclusive city; and yet “Paris is Burning” is still a funny and joyful film, focusing on how people living on the margins often draw strength from each other. The television series “Pose” transformed this scene into a living drama. Fans of this show should return to the beginning of its history.
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“20 feet of fame”
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This Oscar-winning anthem for backup singers is filled with great music and great anecdotes. While listening more closely to the wailing voices on some classic rock songs – from the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Elton John and others – director Morgan Neville and producer Gil Friesen combine nostalgic reminiscences with slice scenes of life . The filmmakers do not hesitate to wonder if the record industry has exploited the work of certain women who should have been stars. But overall, it is a moving greeting: a choir of praise for the unknown.
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“Rush: beyond the lit stage”
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Fans of Canadian prog-rock trio Rush should make the most of this 2010 career documentary, in which group members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and the late Neil Peart tell their own stories, with the help of some of their most famous fans and colleagues. But “Beyond the Lighted Stage” can also seduce some non-fans with its warm portrait of three intelligent, hard-working and united musicians, who continued to explore new directions with their sound – and filled the arenas – even if the critics were saving them.
“Tony Robbins: I’m not your guru”
This portrait of caring celebrity Tony Robbins documents one of his six-day, $ 5,000 per capita seminars with Destiny, which are designed to facilitate life-changing epiphanies. Joe Berlinger (“Brother’s Keeper”, the “Paradise Lost” trilogy) brings his branded style of truth to the project. If you are curious about these types of seminars (but not at all interested in spending the money), the film describes precisely what they look like. Berlinger, however, is himself an old Destiny date, and parts of the film seem a bit rah-rah Robbins.
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“The wall of dawn”
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No, Netflix does not currently offer “Free Solo”, the popular Oscar-winning documentary on Alex Honnold’s efforts in 2017 to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, without ropes or protective harness. But “The Dawn Wall” is just as painful and inspiring, telling the story of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson and their long and grueling summit of another section of the same mountain. Even knowing that there will be a happy ending, it is still frightening to see these athletes attempt such a difficult feat, so far above solid ground.
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“Jiro Dreams of Sushi”
At the intersection of gastronomy and art is Jiro Ono, the octogenarian chef whose perfectionism has earned his sushi restaurant in Tokyo metro station three Michelin stars. David Gelb, the director who ran Netflix’s “Chef’s Table”, renders Jiro’s creations in style. The film offers more than enticing visuals, but it’s also an obsessed profile that becomes a metaphor for creative work of all kinds.
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“The black godfather”
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For over 50 years, entertainment manager and promoter Clarence Avant has been a silent but influential presence in American music, movies, sports and politics, working behind the scenes to connect the right people with each other. In his documentary “The Black Godfather”, director Reginald Hudlin shines a spotlight on Avant, which has helped revive the careers of everyone, from Hank Aaron to Quincy Jones to Barack Obama. It is a portrait of a man who made a lot of money for his many friends, but also urged them – always – to keep their higher ideals in mind.
“Crip Camp: a disability revolution”
Like a documentary version of a teen comedy, “Crip Camp” tells the story of a group of children who spent a few fun summers together, building lifelong friendships. Young people suffered from various physical disabilities, and their experience of being accepted and accommodated in a camp in northern New York State led them, as adults, to start pushing for a world where people wheelchairs or crutches would have better access to public facilities. The film’s co-director Jim Lebrecht was one of those campers, and he brings a personal touch to this little-known piece of civil rights history.
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“Raiders !: The story of the greatest fan film ever made”
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In a story inspired by Steven Spielberg so sweet, the “E.T.” the director himself could have conceived it, two Mississippi boys fall in love with “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and spend seven years filming a remake of it shot by shot. A few decades later, Tim Skousen and Jeremy Coon are in their forties and decide to finish the only scene they have never finished. The warm story of their reunion celebrates cinema and friendship with as much enthusiasm.
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“The worst thing that could ever have happened”
The acclaimed Broadway team of composer / lyricist Stephen Sondheim and his friend and producer Hal Prince had a phenomenal run in the 1970s, but suffered a catastrophic flop with the 1981 experimental musical “Merrily We Roll Along”, who told a sad story – in reverse chronological order – about three friends from the separating showbiz. Although the experience was emotionally devastating, the documentary about it is truly encouraging. The musical has since become a widely recognized classic, and many budding stars who worked on the original production fondly remember that time, like a wonderful dream from which they all awoke prematurely.
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“Baths on Broadway”
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During much of his adult life, the comedy writer Steve Young had an unusual hobby: collecting souvenirs linked to musical theater productions commissioned by corporate sponsors, to be performed for a limited audience of owners. – operators and sellers. “Bathtubs Over Broadway” tells the strange story of these tailor-made shows, seen by few and forgotten by most. But it is also about Young, whose interest in these “industrialists” started as ironic and ironic, but then became a passionate personal mission, to prove that even those who worked on the margins of the entertainment industry had created something of lasting value.