What’s the best documentary you’ve ever seen?

[LovelyQuiche]

Mine is is “The Rescue” about the Thai cave rescue where those young footballers were trapped. Totally enthralling, even though I knew the outcome already, and seeing what they had to deal with actually helped me mentally for giving birth a fortnight later. Like, if they can do that, then I can do what millions of other women do and give birth

what’s yours?

A harrowing one about child poverty in the U.K. at the turn of last century, habe never forgotten it.

The Central Park Five.

Made into a limited series for Netflix called “When They See Us”
Ive watched both multiple times and absolutely cry my eyes out every time. Horrendous what those poor boys went through.

Dreams of a Life

Ken Burns series on the American Civil War

The World at War - particularly the last episode

14 days in May. I watched it age 14 and it totally affected how I view the death penalty then and it continues to this day.

it is available on YouTube.

A State of Mind. It focuses on two North Korean gymnasts, but more widely gives a picture of ordinary lives in North Korea.

The Thin Blue Line. You'll never trust eyewitness testimony again: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Blue_Line_(1988_film)

Man on Wire about the 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers was pretty good.

Yes this too. Such a hard watch.

The Keepers on Netflix really gripped me. Story of a murdered Nun and the consequential cover up by the church.

Mine is quite obscure, about 30 years ago there was a really epic one about the infamous Donner party who got snowbound for months crossing the Oregon trail in the US in the 19th century. OMG I think about it so often.

My Son the Jihadi, the mum was just a normal wee woman, it was very powerful.

YES! Ken Burns on the Civil War... it's my comfort viewing, which is weird but true 🤷🏻‍♀️

Dear Zachary
It starts as a documentary from a friend to a young boy whose father has been murdered. (Friend of the director) and turns into something very different.
Suffice to say i have never ever cried like this over a film and I can never watch it again. However. It stays with me as one of the most powerful pieces of film making I’ve ever seen.
Available on YouTube I think.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark. The book is also fantastic.

Also loved The Keepers.

I watch a lot of documentaries but the two above (especially IBGITD) stand out.

Sex, drugs and murder: life in the red light zone. It was on bbc3 in about 2017 I think.

Not one documentary per se but a series. The 7 up documentaries.

9/11 one that was on last year

Eeek! I can't put my finger on it right now without having a long, hard, serious think. Have watched so many great ones over the years. I'll come back to the thread.

In the meantime, FYRE, which one of my dc encouraged me to watch on Netflix just a few months ago, was outstanding and unforgettable and I would encourage everyone to watch! Amazing stuff.

I was travelling with work, and watched this in my hotel in Belfast. I cried so much it hurt. Thanks for reminding me, I'd forgotten about this....😢

NCd for this.

"Escape From Kabul Airport", currently available on BBC iPlayer, is very good.
I work with Afghan families who came to the UK in the autumn of 2021 as part of the Home Office's relocation scheme. This documentary is the most humbling piece of television I've seen.

These all sound amazing, going to check them out.

Mine is Twin Sisters, a World Apart. The true story of twin sisters from China, found as babies in a box in 2003 and adopted by two separate sets of parents - one from California, the other from a Norwegian village.

www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/twin-sisters/

Rain in my heart about alcoholics being treated in a hospital in Kent. So sad.

Être et avoir has to be up there for me. A documentary about a small village school, in the Auvergne, I think. There was subsequently some bad blood between the schoolmaster and the film makers over payment/royalties which did rather put some shadow over it.

The Keepers
Dreams of a Life
The Imposter
Deliver Us From Evil - how anyone can trust the Catholic Church after watching this amazes me.
I’ll be gone in the dark - About the search for the Golden State Killer and the woman who died while trying to expose him, just mesmerising.

For me, the most powerful was The Pharmacist about a small town chemist in US whose daughter died of oxytocin overdose (iirc) and he started looking into who was prescribing it and discovered a doctor who was basically the equivelnt of a heroin pusher. He then fights and fights to get it outlawed as a prescription drug.

If you haven't seen it, it's really powerful. I'd love to see the Cape Cod one now.