Three Documentaries You Cannot Miss
While we wait for Edgar Wright’s documentary to be released, Caitlin Barr recommends three more that you cannot miss.
Edgar Wright’s documentary on the band Sparks had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival at the end of January. While we’re all waiting for its release, here are some more brilliant documentaries you can stream online.
All the Wild Horses (available to rent on Youtube)
All the Wild Horses follows riders in the Mongol Derby horse race, which is the longest horse race in the world at 650 miles through the Mongolian desert and mountains. I got far more invested in this documentary than I thought I would. It was truly captivating, and I went through such a range of emotions throughout. The pacing was brilliant, the cinematography was epic, and the racers themselves all had such interesting and compelling stories and motives for taking on the terrifying race. I also learned a great deal about Mongolian culture through the riders’ interactions with local people. Ivo Marloh’s brilliant documentary is well worth a nail-biting watch.
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (available on Amazon Prime)
This Oscar-nominated documentary, following the lives of the Black community in Hale County, Alabama, is utterly mesmerising. RaMell Ross’ debut speaks to the monotony, hopelessness, and cyclical nature of the everyday lives of millions around the world and captures it all in one town. Almost every shot is like looking at a painting, and the brutal honesty of the film’s subjects was beautifully juxtaposed with a great deal of love.
For Sama (available on All4)
For Sama documents the life of Waad al-Kateab over five years, punctuated by the uprising in Aleppo where she lives, and the subsequent war. We experience her marriage to a doctor, the birth of their child, and the painstaking decisions the couple have to make every day as to whether or not to stay in the city they call their home or abandon the struggle they’ve worked so hard to support. I don’t think I can even begin to describe how affecting this documentary is, and it’ll definitely stay with me a long time. There were so many beautiful moments interspersed amongst the horror, and al-Kateab’s camera captures hope as well as tragedy.
