Not naive. Not sentimental. Just honestly good at showing what humans are capable of.
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 shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
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.
There's a moment in this that restores something. You'll know it when you see it.
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.
There's a moment in this that restores something. You'll know it when you see it.
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.
There's a moment in this that restores something. You'll know it when you see it.
A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
The best version of this effect is quiet. Not a speech. A small moment. These films have them.
Real humans being real. No genre restores faith more effectively.
Works in a group. Generates conversation.
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.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
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 shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
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.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
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.
It shows people at their best without pretending the world is easy. That's the specific thing.
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.
There's a moment in this that restores something. You'll know it when you see it.
Some films earn their effect. These do.