Is This The Real Life? Documentaries You Love

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Neurochick said:

I really liked The Fog of War and a new one I saw on HBO, Dope Sick Love, the story of two drug addicted couples on the streets of New York.

I saw Dope Sick Love last night and it broke my heart. I have an old friend who is a heroin fiend and crackhead and all throughout this film I thought of her. I also thank God that I gave up my craziness a decade ago because that life is just terrible.

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I watched Stevie yesterday. Jesus H. That was THE SADDEST THING I have ever seen in my life. God, I was not prepared for all of that. I have been haunted for the last 24 hours (and I assume I will remain so for a lot longer).

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The best documentary ever about politics is A Perfect Candidate, about the race between Chuck Robb and Oliver North for Virginia Senate in 1994. As someone who used to be in the field, yeah, that's what it is truly like.

I almost cried at the scene where North's campaign manager is in the car, talking about the state of politics. It really cut close to the bone.

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Mulva said:

I watched Stevie yesterday. Jesus H. That was THE SADDEST THING I have ever seen in my life. God, I was not prepared for all of that. I have been haunted for the last 24 hours (and I assume I will remain so for a lot longer).

You and me both. I watched it last night and am still obsessing about it this morning. I am not sure what I feel about Stevie and his whole clan, but this is a film I would recommend to everyone.

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The said:

I mentioned this at our old home (it was an America Undercover) and someone told me Swan's mother died and she's living with her father in Alaska and out of the pagent circut. I'm strangely relieved.

I just read a month or so ago that Swann's father died, too. As if the documentary wasn't sad enough, the aftermath is even worse for that poor girl.

And count me in on the Stevie haunting train -- it was almost unbearably depressing, yet a wondeful documentary.

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Re: Stevie. It was awesome. in fact, it might be the best doc I've ever seen. But I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone! I am still quite torn up over it.

[kiran]

Thank God someone mentioned Hoop Dreams. I remember Roger Ebert really championed that film (I think he named it the best film of the 90s) and I was so relieved when in his Answer Man Column he said both of the boys had turned out fine.

The drug dealer kid in Devil's Playground was freakishly compelling.

And I loved When we Were Giants

[frenchy]

Has anyone seen or have any thoughts on Edet Belzberg's "Children Underground"?

This made me want to run to Romania and adopt all these poor kids, which I know is illegal as Romania does not all international adoptions. God this film broke my heart.

This is one of my all time favorites. I absolutely HATED the filmmaker for not jumping in and protecting those kids from some very dangerous situations, but I understood why she couldn't. I spent at least 3 hours on the Internet after I saw it, trying to dig up information on where the kids are now. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see adults abuse and neglect those kids in almost every way imagineable, but they still managed to survive and get up every day and take care of themselves. I was overjoyed when the little boy who so desperately wanted to go to school was taken in by a man from Belgium who saw the documentary, until a friend suggested maybe it was some NAMBLA-type. It's been a while since I saw the film, but I remember each one of the kids so vividly. The film was an "experience."

Docurama puts out fantastic documentaries. Farmingville follows the influx of illegal Mexican immigrants to a NY community and a tragic hate crime and its aftermath. This is a film that will make you want to run out and protect all these day laborers from all the bullshit they put up with and it does a good job of following how some people go from being slightly uncomfortable with illegal immigration to all-out racists and lunatics.

Go Tigers! is about a group of high school football players in Massilon, Ohio. For anyone who's ever gone to a high school where football players are absolute GODS, you'll love this film. These boys are treated like kings for 4 years and no one insists they, you know, learn anything. The fall from grace after graduation is a long one.

It Was A Wonderful Life was another excellent one. It follows several homeless women in California and looks at the specific dangers/circumstances that women face on the streets and what put them there. Most of them had no idea what resources were available to them to try to keep them safe or get them off the street and the ones who did know about government help were often unable to get it. It did a really good job of illustrating how once you fall into homelessness, it is extraordinarily difficult to get back on your feet. Some make it and others are not able to.

Gladiator Days (I believe this one is an HBO doc, but you can get it from Netflix) is TREMENDOUS. It is basically about a group of white supremacists who muder a Black inmate (and the actual murder footage is shown more times than is really necessary, even a couple times in slow motion... ugh). But beyond that is the compelling story of how the killer, Troy Kell, ended up in prison for life as a teen and how insanely charismatic he is. I came away from it actually liking and feeling sorry for this guy, which was very unsettling for me as a Black woman. If you have a strong enough stomach to get through the crime footage, this is not one to miss.

[outlier]

No idea if it is available, but there was a startling doco on farmers in the west of Romania called The Last Peasants. They lived almost like the peasants in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, eking out a living with primitive tools, hunched over and missing teeth, superstitious about outsiders or progress.

At one point, a farmer pressures his son to marry the daughter of another local farmer, in a blatant grab for more land. The son demurs, saying they he has his eyes on another girl, whereupon the father starts up, "Well, you do what you like, never mind all we've done for you, disrespecting your father ..." etceter, etcetera. The son caves in and marrys the farmer's daughter. The film-maker asks him if he loves her, and the son gloomily says, "No. No but maybe that will come ..."

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I just watched How to Draw a Bunny. Its the story of underground artist Ray Johnson and his mysterious suicide.

Many people are interviewed to tell of their experiences with Ray. Its very well done and pretty fascinating.