We spent 2016 watching documentaries. M watched a lot of tv and a lot of movies but I didn’t. He has a MUCH higher tolerance for guns and swearing than I apparently do, so, he enjoyed WestWorld and Better Call Saul and countless other things that I went ahead and skipped. I have never been much of a movie person, with just a few exceptions.  This year, I devoured trashy novels, long-form news stories (did you all read the article about Artificial Intelligence at Google in the New York Times Magazine two weeks ago? It was amazing – read it here (you might need a subscription?)), and documentaries. There’s very little I would take a repeat on from 2016, but I did learn about a lot of things this year.

I like when mediums are used to their best advantage. I like to consume news in writing, without a whole lot of commentary – ask M about how I feel about political talking heads. I like to consume fiction  in writing, too. I like when podcasts tell me a story of sound (have you guys listened to 99% Invisible? Amazing. Go listen). I like documentaries because they give us a unique opportunity to have things revealed to us in a way that words on a page can’t – in people’s own words and as they do something astonishing before your eyes.

Anyway! Here are my top 5 documentaries we watched this year. At the bottom, I’ve also an included a full list of documentaries we watched (it’s very likely I’ll add more, I didn’t do an especially good job of cataloging the list this year, and I’m sure I’ll think of more that we watched).  This is my list, M’s would perhaps be in a different order, or include different thing. These are the 5 that have been rattling around in my brain, whose characters and subjects fascinated me.

5. Last Chance U (Netflix)

You might know (or probably not), that we hardly watch football anymore around our house. We’ve watched a lot of documentaries about things like traumatic brain injuries and players’ rights, and it gives us the icks. Certainly, this documentary (which is, for all intents and purposes, a television show split into episodes) at it’s most basic level is the story of a football team looking to go undefeated and win their divisional championship. Fun, sports!  East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Mississippi is more than just your run of the mill community college, though – the school’s astonishingly high level of football is thanks to its reputation as a place where aspiring, and failed, Division I athletes go to get their academics up to snuff so they can return to top level programs. The profane but loving coach is perhaps the central character, but the players are the people who have stuck with me. These young men are portrayed as more than their positions on the field: we follow their struggles to maintain GPAs (one of the most compelling characters is their academic adviser who fights tooth and nail to keep them attending class), transcend their own notions of what they can be, and overcome career ending injuries (and, when your whole life has been about one thing, what do you do if that career ends before it’s had a chance to start?). Yes, it’s sports, and yes, the main narrative is the games. But I found myself thinking about their stories for months afterwards.

4. Somm (Netflix).

Just as a recommendation, if you watch this one, go ahead and also watch Sour Grapes. But if you only watch one, watch Somm. Following a group of men working to pass their Master Sommelier examinations, this film does an impressive job of teaching you about what it means to be a sommelier (not just tasting wine, as it turns out). As with most things people are “professionals” in, I found myself astonished by their sheer amount of knowledge but also just how much guesswork there is (perhaps you don’t operate under the assumption that other people actually know what they’re doing vs. me, who is mostly just doing a lot of guessing). The men are obnoxiously knowledgeable, and frequently  totally wrong – but they’re confident about it. This is a boys club movie, and their wives play bit parts reminding us of the actual toll this training takes on their marriages, never mind the disgusting spit buckets. A fascinating look into a world that most of us haven’t troubled ourselves to think about. And don’t worry if you can’t taste the terroir, doesn’t seem like the masters necessarily always know what it is, either.  After watching, you’ll be inclined to pretend like you know.

3. 13th (Netflix)

If you didn’t watch this one already, I insist you go watch it. I watch A LOT of things about prisons (Hi, my name is Katie, and I’m a Lockup junkie). This film is horrifying. It is fascinating, and thoughtful, and absolutely biased (rightfully – I don’t think bias is a negative in this case, but you’re certainly aware of it). It is a must-watch. Bring your kleenex, and prepare for some long self-examination about the world around you. Through the prism of America’s history of racial inequality, Director Ava Duvernay examines the prison system. Some of the experts are a bit on the strange side, but, on the whole, the work is stunning, the research sound, and the conclusions drawn will have you ready to look for ways to do something. Embrace the feeling. Prison reform in this country is an absolutely necessary thing.

2. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Netflix)

I spent weeks after we watched this thinking about Jiro. It changed how I thought about the individual, mundane tasks we do in the world. How cleaning is as important as cooking. How savoring each piece of  something – from beginning to end – is fulfilling in its own right. It’s hard to explain how transcendental it is to watch Jiro make sushi. He is a harsh character, exacting. Certainly, the story of his sons is as interesting as the story of Jiro. I finished this film wanting to be a master of something in the way that Jiro is. In a time in my life when wanting to make a BIG change is appealing (and it feels sometimes like so many doors are open that you can’t choose which one you want to walk through), Jiro is there to remind you that the big change sometimes comes from doing one thing in an extraordinary way. This film happens to also have a lot to say about how we are over fishing our oceans, and it’s a powerful message in its own right.

1. Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-qiang (Netflix)

This film is stunning. There aren’t a lot of words that could do it justice, really. Short of seeing one of his works in person (you probably did see at least one on tv, during the Olympics in Beijing – a subject of some contention), this is as close as you can come – and it astonishes. His life is fascinating. The subject of the film – The Sky Ladder – is its own unbelievable adventure, and you  follow along as he works through the artistic process and then struggles to mount the extremely temperamental (and secret) project. I don’t want to spoil anything for you. Go watch it. There were parts I had to rewind and watch again.

 

The full list (with some quick commentary for your reading pleasure):

• Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Netflix) – a meditation on sushi and family
• Last Chance U (Netflix) – tv series-like look at a community college football team made up of extraordinary talent as they attempt to win the NCAA DIII football championship
• Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-qiang (Netflix) – astonishing film about  Cai Guo-quiang as he develops and executes a secret project in his hometown in China
• The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (Netflix) – an intimate look at The Barkley Marathon through the lens of the man who founded it and a group of individuals attempting to complete it
• Indie Game: The Movie (Netflix) – a sometimes navel-gazing (but always entertaining) look at the world of Indie game design
• Man vs. Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler (Netflix) – An often-hilarious look at a group of gamers attempting to surpass one billion points in the arcade game, Nibbler
• The Diplomat (HBO) – thought-provoking look at the life of Richard Holbrooke, directed by his son
• The Loving Story (HBO) – the story of the Lovings, whose interracial relationship led to a landmark Supreme Court case
• The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Richard Durst (Netflix) – Did he do it, or didn’t he? Multi-episode look at Richard Durst, one of the top 5 creepiest people that will give you nightmares for several months.
• Making a Murderer (Netflix) – if you didn’t watch it, go watch it! Shocking look at the criminal justice system in northern Wisconsin – and/or an extremely biased look at some very gruesome crimes (depending on your point of view…)
• 13th (Netflix) – An uncompromising look at the relationship between the 13th amendment and the criminal justice system in the United States
• For the Love of Spock (Netflix) – touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy, directed by his son.
• Life Itself (Netflix) – This story of Roger Ebert, as told mostly by Roger and many of his close friends, is heart breakingly sad because of his untimely death.
• Going Clear (HBO) – Scientology. Enough said.
• Somm (Netflix) – Fascinating look into the world of Master Sommeliers, an elite group of (mostly men) who more-or-less know everything there is to know about wine.
• Sour Grapes (Netflix) – bizarre story about the world of fine wine, and the apparent prevalence of fake bottles. Really strange, very fascinating.