Culture
Why Frederick Wiseman Was the Greatest Documentary Filmmaker Ever
His work depended on access. He filmed in hospital rooms where patients and families faced incommensurable agonies with the aid of the…
Tag
documentaries
Politics
What a “Melania” Cinematographer Hoped to Accomplish
What did you make of the President and Melania? And what’s different about filming a movie in the White House or on Air Force One? Well,…
Culture
Two New Movies Revivify the Portrait-Film Genre
Documentaries about individuals are ubiquitous, but “Suburban Fury” and “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” explore the…
Business
The Lessons of “The Perfect Neighbor”
“The Perfect Neighbor” chronicles how Lorincz, in her attempts to turn law enforcement against members of her own community, managed only…
News
A Musical Indictment of the Harris County Jail in “Criminal”
From the outside, the Harris County Jail might be mistaken for a high-end condo, with walls of windows that overlook the bayou in downtown…
Culture
“Once Upon a Time in Harlem” Is a Film for the Ages
The Harlem Renaissance—the subject that everyone had gathered to discuss—is described in the film by Major as the first time that Black…
Politics
“My Undesirable Friends: Part I” Is a Staggering Portrait of Russian Journalists in Dissent
Because the Russian alphabet has no direct equivalent of the letter “H,” speakers often substitute a “G” sound; “Harry Potter” thus…
News
Glory and Gore in “Afternoons of Solitude”
You don’t have to like bullfighting to watch “Afternoons of Solitude” with fascination, any more than you have to like crime to enjoy a…
Politics
“Drop Dead City” Spotlights a Lost Era of Liberal Government
At a time when the very function of government is being destroyed from within, an extraordinary historical documentary, “Drop Dead City,”…
News
Why Do We Want to Believe That Jim Morrison Is Still Alive?
There’s something that has always struck me as undeniably teen-age about loving the Doors, and particularly its lead singer, Jim Morrison.…
News
Contributor: Great documentaries reveal history's truth. Unregulated AI threatens to distort it
A furious political leader shouting a message of hate to an adoring audience. A child crying over the massacre of her family. Emaciated…
News
The Real-Life Drama of “Dying”
In observational documentaries, one important thing tends to be left unspoken: namely, why the films’ subjects let filmmakers embed in…