It started in college on summer session when I took a class about film and politics. It was required for my major, I love movies, and the professor was really cool. It was a win-win-win. We covered a lot of the staples, DR. STRANGELOVE, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, FAIL SAFE), but our professor threw in some documentaries (BROTHER'S KEEPER, THE WAR ROOM). The docs were the ones that surprised me because I never really appreciated them. I always figured informational type programming was meant for National Geographic or the History Channel. Up until that point, the only other experience I had with documentaries was watching Michael Moore's, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE.
This made me seek out more documentaries, and there was one documentary I kept hearing about...CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS. I tracked it down and watched and was blown away. By the end of the film, I didn't know what the answer was and/or what side I fell on. I thought all docs had to have a definitive side, but I was proven incorrect. So, if that film could surprise me, what other great documentaries must be out there?
So thus my project begins. During this month, I will be watching a doc a day. All of the films will be available on Netflix, so feel free to watch along with me, and they will be films I have not seen before. I will have weekly write up of all the films with my thoughts.
Here is my first week line-up:
- Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
- Chasing Ice
- The Flat
- Bully
- Girl Model
- Side by Side
- The Woman Who Wasn't There
Check back next week for my thoughts on these films and the next seven I will watch!
