2012: A Banner Crop of Docs!

If you read my list of favorite films this year, you’ll notice a lot of docs.  I love documentaries, it’s true, but it’s also true that the quality of non-fiction film as film has just shot through the roof.  And the diversity not only of subject but of style is really breathtaking.  Here are some of my faves – forget that these movies might have something to say; they’re all just great movies.  An asterisk denotes that the film was nominated for an Oscar this year.  Happy watching!!

1. *The Gatekeepers – Six former heads of Israeli’s security service speak eloquently, honestly and disturbingly about the fight against terror.  A powerful gut-punch of movie…and maybe the best doc this year.
2. *5 Broken Cameras – One man’s very personal experience of being on the Palestinian side of the never ending conflict in Israel.
3. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry - A lovely little portrait of the artist who’s using his middle finger to challenge the Chinese government.
4. Ballplayer: Pelotero – The majors are developing some of their best players in the Dominican Republic – but are the owners of America’s Pastime colluding to keep salaries down?
5. Beauty is Embarrassing  – A movie that will make you want to have a beer with Wayne White, the artist who designed much of what became “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” and so much more.
6. Bestiare – Lock down a camera in a pen with big animals and you have a riveting piece of art and documentary.
7. Beware of Mr. Baker – A rollicking look at genius drummer and misanthrope Ginger Baker.  Look out!  He swings a mean cane.
8. Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope – Morgan Spurlock’s fantastically fun love letter to nerd-dom, and an homage to commitment, craft and the search for family.
9. Hecho En Mexico – An amazing musical mash-up that takes you on a tour of the modern Mexican soul.
10. *How to Survive a Plague - The edge-of-your-seat story of how gay activists got our government to respond – finally – to the AIDS crisis.
11. Jiro Dreams of Sushi - A beautifully made meditation on the pros and cons of perfectionism, with the world’s best sushi chef at its center.
12. Kumare’ - An American of Indian descent decides to become a guru – just to see if he can.
13. Planet of Snail - A moving and unusual movie about a moving and unusual couple – he’s tall, deaf and blind; she’s tiny and kyphotic.  They talk through their hands, but their love speaks volumes.
14. Queen of Versaille - A couple with way too much money and way too little taste suffer at the hands of the recession…is it a metaphor for American consumerism or a reality TV show about two fantastically messed-up people?
15. Samsara - The makers of Baraka take you on a panoramic, dream-like look at the world and its wonders, large and small, beautiful and terrible.
16. *Searching for Sugar Man - The amazing story of the search for South Africa’s biggest musical star – is he dead, or living quietly in Detroit?
17. The Ambassador - A rabble-rousing documentarian goes under cover as an African ambassador-in-waiting to expose corruption and the traffic in blood diamonds.  Hilarious and unnerving.
18. The Central Park Five - The kids accused of “wilding” in Central Park in the ’70′s were later proved innocent.  This precise piece of filmmaking attempts to show how the NYPD got suspects to confess to a horrendous crime they didn’t commit.
19. The Imposter - The spellbinding story of the French boy who convinced a Texas family that he was their long lost son.
20. *The Invisible War – Congress was forced to address the issue of rape in military after the release of Kirby Dick’s powerful film.
21. The Island President - The president of the Maldives takes on the world to save his tiny island nation from drowning under rising seas.
22. The Waiting Room - A verite‘ look at the waiting room in the ER of a large public hospital.  Great characters and great stories make personal our crisis in health care.
23. This is Not a Film - Iranian filmaker Jafar Panahi was banned by his government from making films, so he made this.  If Seinfeld was a show about nothing, this is a movie about nothing.  Only in this case, nothing says so much.

Note that these are movies that are listed on Box Office Mojo as having had a release in 2012.  I never managed to see Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, but I’ve heard good things!