This was a satisfying category to watch this year, partly because they weren’t all complete downers (I applaud the effort that goes into documentary films, but some years they’re all so depressing it’s really difficult to power through the whole list) but also because I didn’t have any trouble tracking them down; they were all easily found and often available to watch for free. Below are some quick reviews of each, my prediction for which one I think will take the Oscar (which isn’t the same as the one I liked the best), and links to where you can watch them.
The Last Repair Shop
It’s beautifully shot, with so many heartfelt stories about musical instruments, the children who play them, and the people who repair them. I particularly liked the stories about the man with the 20 dollar violin, the sponsor father who tuned pianos, and the jar of things found inside brass instruments. It’s often bittersweet (the woman talking about not having money for Christmas presents for her children really kicked me in the heart) but with an optimistic tone, it gives you a little faith in humanity.
However, I felt the audio was a bit overproduced; as a (completely amateur) podcast editor I know the temptation sometimes is to edit things incredibly tight, taking out every um and pause. But after a while it gets distracting. It may have been noticeable to me just because I edit audio, but I wish they’d let people’s words “breathe” a little more. That being said, I absolutely burst into tears at the closing credits, so my nitpicks are nitpicky.
I’ve heard this one is the favorite to win the Oscar. It wasn’t my favorite but it’d be a worthy win for sure.
You can watch this film on the Los Angeles Times YouTube feed.
Island in Between
For anyone woefully ignorant about the Taiwanese/China conflict (and don’t worry that definitely includes me) this is a must watch. The visuals are gorgeous (there’s a wonderful juxtaposition between ancient Chinese roofs and modern wind turbines on the horizon) and compared to The Last Repair Shop, the creators gave the audio plenty of time to breathe. It’s an informative documentary that’s beautifully produced, and while it’s not always a happy story, it has a hopeful quality to it as well.
You can watch this film on the New York Times YouTube feed.
The Barber of Little Rock
So many people have convinced themselves that “white privilege” means they’ve had an easy life. It doesn’t, it means white people, and white neighborhoods, have access to resources that black communities don’t. Banks don’t want to open up branches in black neighborhoods, even ATMs are harder to come by, and “banking while black” is definitely a thing. (I’ve heard so many stories of black business owners sending their white employees to the bank because it’s so much harder to get a loan if the bank knows you’re black.)
Arlo Washington is doing his best to give the people in his community the same opportunities that a white community would have: easy access to banking, job opportunities, and a helping hand when you’re at your lowest moment. “You can’t develop a community unless you develop the people” is a line that really jumped out at me.
It’s a fascinating, well-made documentary that’s often infuriating (there are so many resources for poorer communities that never actually make it into the communities they’re supposed to be helping) but it’s empowering too.
You can watch this film on the New Yorker YouTube feed.
The ABCs of Book Banning
As soon as I saw the title of this one I knew it’d get enraged watching it, and I was right.
At first I thought the movie was just “preaching to the choir”: the people most likely to watch this film are people who are against banning books, and I may be overly cynical but I don’t think anyone who wants to ban books is likely to change their minds after watching the film. But as someone who’s against the practice, even I didn’t know the scope of the problem until I watched the film. The amount of LGBTQ literature being restricted is horrific all on its own, but so many of the banned books are about black empowerment, women’s rights, and sex education too, to an embarrassing degree. They banned a children’s book on Rosa Parks, how can they justify that even to themselves? Or banning a graphic novel of the Diary of Anne Frank? What in the world?
It’s a well-made film, shot from an interesting perspective (interviewing the children that are supposedly being protected from these books) and it isn’t preaching to the choir; even those of us who are against book banning need a bit of a wake up call, we didn’t know how bad it’s already gotten.
You can watch this film on Amazon or YouTube with a Paramount+ membership.
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)
I think a lot of us forget that when we get old we’ll still feel the same way we do now, and we’ll want to do the same things we do now. We’ll just do them slowly and more carefully. That includes cooking and putting on our shoes, but also celebrating our birthdays and peeling a hard boiled egg, and dancing.
This film is about two little old ladies; their husbands are long gone but they’re looking out for each other. Life isn’t easy, but they both remember when life was much harder, so they do their best and cherish the good times. It’s well-filmed, poignant, but super humorous and irreverent.
While I don’t think this one is likely to win the Oscar (it’s too quiet and sweet, the Oscars seem to go to the hard-hitting documentaries) I thought it was lovely, and it was my favorite of this year’s nominations.
You can watch this film with a Disney+ membership.