add to that list “the thin blue line”, “doctor death”, “fast, cheap and out of control” and “the fog of war” (all by errol morris, probably the greatest documentarian alive–note only the last of those films is overtly political).

also “hands on hard body” is great–also not political, but great nonetheless.

the international documentaries association recently ranked the top documentaries of all time. here’s my post in response to the rankings. check out the comments to the post, there’s a ton of recommended docs in there.

1. Black Tar Heroin (watched it on Dailymotion.com. Broken into parts (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).

2. American Hollow (documentary by Rory Kennedy (the late RFK’s daughter). Follows an Appalachian family through their trials, tears and tribulations. Excellent socio-economic awareness piece.

3. Capturing the Friedmans (an “ordinary” Jewish family in New York turn out to be anything but ordinary). HBO shows this occasionally on their documentary lineup.

4. Latcho Drom (means “Safe journey”). Not just a musical documentary, it follows the journey of the gypsies (or “Rom”) through years of persecution and poverty. The documentary covers the diaspora of the gypsy people through India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France and, finally, Spain. This documentary was truly one of my favorites. I learned to love the gypsy music and to better understand the unconventional lifestyle of the Romani or Gypsy people.

5. Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero. After 9-11, Americans ponder the existence of God.

6. Southern Comfort. Excellent, thought-provoking documentary about a transgendered (female-to-male) person and his circle of friends. The fact that “Robert” has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer seems merely incidental in this documentary; what stands out is his contagious joy of life and the small circle of misfits that share his world.
7. Promises. Outstanding documentary that allows the viewer more than a glance into the world of the children - both Palestinian and Israeli - who, at turns, emulate, admire and question the decisions of a grownup world engaged in a battle that seems to have no end in sight.

8. The Devil’s Playground. Gives an inside view of Amish youth and what happens when some of them grow too fond of the “English” lifestyle. Mainly centers around a charismatic young man who becomes addicted to methamphetamine.

9. Flesh and Blood. Centers around life in the “Tom” household; that is, the day-to-day accomplishments and heartaches of a single mother who has adopted ten children, all of whom have special needs. Riveting.

There are too many good documentaries to include here, but those listed above are some great ones for starters.

I told Santa Clause to bring me a copy of “Sicko” by Michael Moore.

Every one of them is worth owning, let alone simply viewing.

–mf