MOVIEPIQ · DOCUMENTARY · THAT LEAVE YOU FEELING HOPEFUL

Documentary Movies That Leave You Feeling Hopeful When You Can’t Sleep

Documentary movies that leave you feeling hopeful when you cant sleep. Includes Blackfish, Miss Americana, Jodorowsky's Dune and more, curated by Moviepiq.

Not optimistic in a cheap way. Hopeful in the way that actually sticks.

Blackfish movie poster
1
2013 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

It doesn't wrap things up perfectly. It just leaves you believing in the possibility of better.

Miss Americana movie poster
2
2020 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

A raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time during a transformational period in her life as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.

It doesn't wrap things up perfectly. It just leaves you believing in the possibility of better.

Jodorowsky's Dune movie poster
3
2013 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.

It doesn't wrap things up perfectly. It just leaves you believing in the possibility of better.

Home movie poster
4
2009 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

In 200,000 years of existence, man has upset the balance on which the Earth had lived for 4 billion years. Global warming, resource depletion, species extinction: man has endangered his own home. But it is too late to be pessimistic: humanity has barely ten years left to reverse the trend, become aware of its excessive exploitation of the Earth's riches, and change its consumption pattern.

The hope at the end of this has been paid for by everything that came before. It's earned.

They Shall Not Grow Old movie poster
5
2018 · ★★★½☆ 7.8/10

A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.

The hope at the end of this has been paid for by everything that came before. It's earned.

Real hope in film comes from honesty about difficulty. These films know that.

Real people overcoming real things. Hope that isn't manufactured.

Something to watch when sleep won't cooperate.

I Am Not Your Negro movie poster
6
2017 · ★★★½☆ 7.7/10

Working from the text of James Baldwin's unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.

The hope at the end of this has been paid for by everything that came before. It's earned.

Citizenfour movie poster
7
2014 · ★★★½☆ 7.7/10

In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.

It doesn't wrap things up perfectly. It just leaves you believing in the possibility of better.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi movie poster
8
2011 · ★★★½☆ 7.7/10

Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.

The hope at the end of this has been paid for by everything that came before. It's earned.

Inside Job movie poster
9
2010 · ★★★½☆ 7.7/10

A film that exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.

The hope at the end of this has been paid for by everything that came before. It's earned.

Before the Flood movie poster
10
2016 · ★★★½☆ 7.7/10

A look at how climate change affects our environment and what society can do to prevent the demise of endangered species, ecosystems, and native communities across the planet.

It doesn't wrap things up perfectly. It just leaves you believing in the possibility of better.

Some films earn their effect. These do.

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