Disclaimer
I have seen fewer documentaries (and overall, movies) in 2022 than in the previous five years - for a variety of reasons - and I missed, among other things: Carbon and Captivity (Oliver Ressler), The Oil Machine (Emma Davie), The Plains (David Easteal), The Andy Warhol Diaries (Andrew Rossi), Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen), The Territory (Alex Pritz), and De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel), It is Night in America (Ana Vaz), Nothing Lasts Forever (Jason Kohn), Girl Gang (Susanne Regine Meures), The Cars We Drove into Capitalism (Boris Missirkov, Georgi Bogdanov).
We definitely need a better delivery system for great documentaries: Mubi, Kanopy, and Fandor are just not good enough.
Nonetheless, it was a pretty good year for docs: Adam Curtis' latest project is a masterpiece and so is The Power of Big Oil, which should become part of every possible curricula. There Will Be No Night is the most accomplished video essay I've seen in years.
Below are some comments:
The Power of Big Oil
By far, the most interesting and urgent documentary of the year. Extremely well researched and illustrated - The Power of Oil is a new Merchants of Doubt-like milestone and should be watched widely. I also recommend the book by Michael Mann, The New Climate War (2012), which traces the massive disinformation campaign orchestrated by Big Oil and its predecessors (Big Tobacco, the gun lobby etc.). Essential viewing.
There Will Be No More Night (this is from 2020, but Mubi only streamed it in 2022)
"Americans name their helicopters after the Native Americans tribes they have massacred: Cheyenne, Apache...". Video game interfaces, real deaths: the gamification of warfare. Paul Virilio, James Der Derian, Jean Baudrillard, and lots of YouTube. The more you see, the less you understand. An extraordinary video essay from Éléonore Weber.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
I completely agree with Jerry Saltz ("Mashed Potatoes Meet Money", New York magazine, December 6 2022): Nan Goldin and her band of pirates, who focused their attacks on OxyContin and institutional corruption from the Sackler actually brought about *real change*, while the activists throwing soup cans at paintings in various museums around the world have not achieve much - perhaps should make a stronger case for divestment from fossil fuels money. At any rate, die ins are much more effective than pretend vandalism - although I completely support the Just Oil campaign and environmental activism.
Bulletproof (also from 2020)
At first, Bulletproof seems to be about school shootings, but its real focus is the horror of American capitalism, which is the main reason why schools shootings take place on a weekly basis. Chandler shows us there's an entire industry that profits from machine guns, metal detectors, bullet-proof vests & all the weapons of mass destruction that the NRA & the GOP want to sell you using the Constitution as an excuse.
Alex's War
Like her previous documentary TFW NO GF, Alex's War is a portrayal of systemic failure. Alex's War is not just about a single dishonest grifter. It's about an entire culture that has been conned and enjoys the con. It's a terrifying, realistic, no filter depiction of an imploded society. Q. What kind of culture produces Infowars? A. In many ways, Jones the self made man embodies the American Dream, suggests Lee Moyer.
Invisible Demons
30 years of neoliberalism have basically destroyed India.. As tragic as it is, the same outcome can be seen in most Western countries as well (e.g., Italy). Free markets have multiplied smog, trash and pollution. Micro-plastics are everywhere, including our organs. We're going through a sixth extinction. As Jain shows in his horror movie, climate change is the endgame of capitalism. 'Sustainability' = greenwashing.
Woodlands. Dark Days and Days Bewitched
One of the best documentaries ever made on a horror genre, or rather subgenre. Extremely well documented, never pedantic or didactic, and yet super informative, Janisse's overview of a quintessential British cultural phenomenon mixes talking heads and film footage with gusto. The sociocultural dimensions, as well as the political ideology, of folk horror, are examined from many angles. Final score: phenomenal.
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