Trailer Tuesday: The best documentaries on Netflix
This Trailer Tuesday will quench your thirst for knowledge. I present the crème de la crème of documentary films and series on Netflix that you can still learn something from.
The best thing Netflix has to offer is documentaries. I haven't watched all of them, but many of them. Some of them several times. The ones you should definitely not miss are included in this Trailer Tuesday.
The list is in alphabetical order and not from great to sensational.American Factory
What could possibly go wrong when trying to establish the Chinese labour mentality in the USA? Quite a lot!
The small town of Dayton in the state of Ohio is located in the centre of the so-called rust belt. The region, which grew up thanks to the automotive industry, has been suffering from growing unemployment for years. Factories have been forced to close their doors and lay off entire workforces due to the poor economic situation. Chinese windscreen manufacturer Fuyao sees a lucrative business opportunity in one such disused General Motors factory. It will be their first plant in the USA.
The American community is grateful. At last there is work again. But the initial elation quickly changes. Not only does Fuyao pay less than half the hourly wage of their former employer General Motors, but occupational safety is also de-emphasised in this plant, which leads to an increasing number of accidents. When the American workers then form a union, the situation escalates.
Dirty Money
Power, greed, corruption. When companies walk over dead bodies to do business and morality is a foreign word. Money rules the world.
Two seasons of six episodes each show in this true crime documentary series what companies will put up with for profit. In one episode, for example, the diesel scandal about VW's manipulated emissions tests is investigated. In another episode, "Dirty Money" uncovers the machinations of the major British bank HSBC, which made a fortune in Mexico with money from drug cartels.
A documentary series that makes you realise just how little some companies value life, the environment or laws.
Five Came Back
How can you make the Second World War palatable to the American people? With cinema films shot by Hollywood directors on the front lines.
The three-part documentary series "Five Came Back" shows the creation and significance of US propaganda films during the Second World War. The five Hollywood directors John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra and George Stevens joined the army during this period to produce war films for the homeland on the front line. For this documentary series, contemporary filmmakers including Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro and Lawrence Kasdan analysed hundreds of hours of historical footage and comment on it in their own words.
"Five Came Back" tells a piece of history that film lovers should know.
FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happend
Fake it, till you make it! Or maybe not.
Billy McFarland, CEO of Fyre Media Inc., wants to promote his new app with an exclusive festival and high-calibre musicians on a private island in the Bahamas. Day tickets cost between 500 and 1500 dollars and promise modern accommodation and culinary delights from Michelin-starred chefs. VIP passes are available for 12,000 dollars, which also includes travelling by plane. The festival was advertised on Instagram by influencers such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. So far, so good. If it wasn't for a CEO with no event experience, dodgy funding and gullible social media followers. It's turning into a disaster!
I've rarely felt such schadenfreude during a documentary, although I kept asking myself: how deluded can you actually be? Whether organiser or visitor.
Icarus
What begins with a doping self-experiment by an amateur cyclist ends in the FBI's witness protection programme and the near exclusion of all Russian athletes from the Olympic Games.
US filmmaker and cyclist Bryan Fogel dares to try it out for himself. He wants to find out how he can undergo a doping programme without being caught. Together with Grigori Rodchenkov, Director of the Russian Anti-Doping Centre, he draws up a sophisticated plan which, according to Rodchenkov, is 100 per cent watertight. After all, he has been doing this with Russian athletes for years. The longer the relationship between the two lasts, the more Rodchenkov reveals about Russia's state-organised doping programme. A programme that extends all the way to Putin and reached its peak with secret service activities during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
In "Icarus", the plot develops in a completely different direction than originally intended. So much so that the protagonists have to fear for their lives. Because just like Icarus, the son of Daedalus, Fogel and Rodchenkov are in danger of getting too close to the sun.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
In 1999, Jim Carrey embodied the life of entertainer and performance artist Andy Kaufman in the feature film "Man on the Moon". And embodied is the right word in this sentence, because Carrey effectively became Kaufman. Even off the set.
"Jim & Andy" provides an impressive look behind the scenes of the film shoot and shows just how exhausting Carrey was for everyone involved. Or in his own words: "What happened was out of my control." Because Carrey no longer existed during this time, only Andy Kaufman did. He terrorised the crew, drank alcohol and was not ashamed of any of his outbursts.
You can like Jim Carrey or not. But this documentary shows what a brilliant actor this man is. Albeit to the detriment of everyone involved.
LA Originals
"LA Originals" tells the story of two Chicanos who shaped the hip-hop culture of Los Angeles in the 1990s like no other. Estevan Oriol and Mister Cartoon.
Oriol was the photographer par excellence for everyone who was anyone in LA in the 1990s. He took portraits of Cypress Hill, Eminem, Snoop Dog, Danny Trejo, 50 Cent and many more. He has also directed music videos for artists such as Xzibit, Tech N9ne, Rise Against and Blink-182. Cartoon mainly drew airbrushes for Lowriders, but has become an authority on tattoos. Being allowed to wear a Cartoon tattoo on your skin is something exclusive. You belong to a select club, so to speak. He has tattooed Kobe Bryant, Dr Dre, Snoop Dog, 50 Cent, Eminem and Travis Baker, among others.
The documentary shows how the two people behind the spotlight have contributed significantly to the history of hip hop and the role model of Chicanos in LA.
Rotten
"Rotten" pillories the food industry and its perverse machinations. And no, it's not just about meat. Vegans also get their comeuppance here.
Honey, peanuts, garlic, milk, avocado, wine, water, chocolate. All foods that we consume every day and yet rarely think about their origin. Did you know, for example, that growing avocados in Mexico is more lucrative than cocaine? Or that workers on sugar cane plantations are still exploited as they were in the days of colonialism? In two seasons of six episodes each, "Rotten" shows what is going wrong in the food industry and who is taking the lion's share of the money.
Rotten made me think a lot. Not just about my food consumption, but also about the inequality in this system. I can really warmly recommend the series to everyone.
The Bomb
First of all: "The Bomb" is quite experimental. More of an art installation than a documentary film.
This documentary about nuclear weapons and their destructive power lasts 60 minutes. The Bomb is not narrated in any way and has no linear structure. Archive footage of army parades, atomic bombs and animated blueprints are shown visually. The documentary is underpinned by a magnificent soundtrack by The Acid, which is synchronised to match the image.
I was blown away by this documentary. Not only because the film is anything but conventional, but also because the message spills over to the viewer despite the lack of narration. A unique documentary that is unlike any other.
The Great Hack
How to influence voters on social media with untruths and conspiracy myths. Done during Brexit and the 2016 US presidential election by Cambridge Analytica.
Knowing your supporters is an advantage. More important, however, are the undecided voters. Winning them over in your favour can make the difference between victory and defeat in an election campaign. In this documentary, Brittany Kaiser, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica, reveals as a whistleblower how they manipulated voters via adverts on Facebook. Until these voters saw the world in a completely different light.
The Great Hack shows us in a frightening way how our data is used against us and how social media is used as a weapon.
The White Helmets
When the state has too few rescue workers, the population has to find a solution. In Syria, they are called The White Helmets.
Started as a spontaneous volunteer force, they became a private civil defence organisation. The White Helmets. They are the first responders on the ground when hospitals, schools and residential buildings are bombed in Syria. Risking their own lives, they try to rescue as many people as possible from the rubble. The Oscar-winning short documentary mercilessly shows how the population suffers in a war zone and yet stands up for each other. True to the motto of the White Helmets and also a quote from "Schindler's List": "The saving of one life ... is the saving of all mankind."
An extremely moving short documentary about people who go beyond their physical and mental limits to save the lives of their fellow human beings. Images that you won't forget in a hurry.
Do you know any other documentaries on Netflix that I should definitely watch? Write it in the comments.
Riding my motorbike makes me feel free, fishing brings out my inner hunter, using my camera gets me creative. I make my money messing around with toys all day.