I find it interesting that the last five movies I saw (see left for list) were four self-proclaimed documentaries and one true story adapted for the big screen (Shattered Glass). It’s clear that after the mainstream success of hits like Spellbound, The Fog of War and of course, Bowling for Columbine, more and more filmmakers are following the money.

And, like any good thing that becomes a bandwagon, the documentary genre is being done justice in some ways and perverted in others. To explain, here are some of my (spoiler-free) thoughts about these films.

Capturing the Friedmans
Caught this one for a whopping 15$ in London. It tells the story of a suburban family that seems extremely normal, except that Dad has been accused of a very deranged crime. But did he do it? Did the cops fabricate the story? The wonderful thing about this film is that the family’s three highly intelligent sons were in the habit of filming absolutely everything (including family disputes) when this happened, and so there is some very candid footage of the family’s reactions to the accusations.

Super Size Me
Morgan Spurlock decides to see what will happen if he eats only McDonald’s food for a month. I thought this might be quite dull, as I couldn’t see myself learning anything new. What’s so revolutionary about the fact that junk food is bad? Yet, Spurlock demonstrates this is a very funny and entertaining manner.

The Corporation
Same setup for this movie: it too is making a point that we’re already aware of, that is that corporations are evil. However, it doesn’t work. It calls itself a documentary in the opening credits, yet at the very beginning the narrator’s cold, scientific (”yes we’re objective because we speak this way”) voice says something like “we will demonstrate how evil companies really are”. The tone is very condescending and the film ends up being way too long. Sad, because it makes an important point and includes interviews with some great thinkers like Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein.

Shattered Glass
Entertaining dramatization of the case of the New Republic reporter who made up many of the stories he published in the influential magazine. Sounds dull, but it was very enjoyable and thought provoking, and it includes some interesting information about how the “facts” we read in the media are checked for accuracy. My only complaint (but I guess it’s a doozie): the main character is played by Hayden Christensen, whom I discovered is a horrible actor even without the help of George Lucas.

Fahrenheit 9/11
You know what this is about. You’ve probably seen it. For all its partisanship, 9/11 didn’t bother me as much as The Corporation, probably because it doesn’t even try to come off sounding objective. Like Martine said, its message is so important that it warrants forgiving its minor flaws.

So taking stock, I suppose the genre isn’t doing too badly, seeing as I can easily recommend three of the four documentaries above, as well as the dramatization. Let’s hope the trend continues.