7 jaw-dropping documentaries to watch online

Documentaries are essentially a reflection of life through someone else’s eyes. We aim to be mindful and self-aware, but there’s so much noise that it can be difficult to see things clearly. Through extensive research, mountains of recorded media and timely investigations, documentary filmmakers give us the story from an educated and persuasive point of view.

Often prompted by something that breaks their heart, these impassioned people attempt to corral the truth. Whether unmodulated or filtered, these seven thought-provoking and important films will help you see the world differently once you pick your jaw off the floor.

Influence (2020)

Lord Tim Bell should have been a Harry Potter villain. The infamous first name in the shameful and heinous PR firm Bell Pottinger, he made a career out of twisting the truth. A wizard of lies, he’s been in the business since the 80s, instrumental in a campaign that helped usher in Margaret Thatcher as British Prime Minister. Leveraging his inside-man powers, his public relations firm only became more powerful in using social media’s pinpoint accurate targeting to sway public opinion.

Influence gives viewers unprecedented access to Bell, offering the equivalent of a glass window confessional as he recounts his involvement and influence in campaigns around the world, including South Africa. Directors Diana Neille and Richard Poplak wield their journalistic edge to offer a comprehensive and well-balanced take on some of Bell’s “biggest hits”. Influence is an eye-opening and revelatory documentary that will make you rethink headlines.

The Crime of the Century (2021)

It’s no secret, America has an overmedication problem ranging from drugs for serious conditions to newly invented afflictions. The Crime of the Century exposes big pharma’s darkest secret using billboards to call it The Opioid Crisis. Since the turn of the millennium, over half a million Americans have died from opioid overdoses with related costs of abuse and addiction totalling over $1 trillion.

Prolific documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney investigates the narcotics crisis from opium’s highly profitable rise through history to its drug cartel and institutionalised use today. A sleek and infotaining documentary series, The Crime of the Century moves at a quick pace, building its case through key interviews, damning investigative journalism, compelling archive footage and rich visuals. Discussing the inception of addictive controlled-release opioid drugs designed to treat anxiety and pain, the outstanding crime documentary series expands to tackle the organisations, operatives and regulators who enable over-production and widespread distribution.

Adrienne (2021)

Adrienne is a retrospective tribute to Adrienne Shelly, best known as the writer-director of Waitress. While her career culminated in this critically acclaimed indie comedy drama, she unfortunately wasn’t around to see her own premiere at Sundance. This intimate and touching character portrait documentary attempts to capture her tenacious drive and creative spirit of after she was ripped away from her husband, Andy, and toddler, Sophie, too soon.

Through archival footage, home videos, photos, film clips and interviews with family, friends and collaborators, we get a clearer picture of a promising young woman with a truly independent voice who was only starting to flourish. Her husband, Andy, directs this nostalgic and heartbreaking film, giving it a sense of raw intimacy. Covering her time as Hal Hartley’s muse and lead actor, her redirection towards writing and directing and her most significant relationships, this is a hauntingly beautiful documentary about talent, legacy and coping with loss.

At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019)

At the Heart of Gold is an explosive, eye-opening and shocking sports and crime documentary. Directed by Erin Lee Carr, this powerful film offers compelling testimony from survivors and a heartbreaking emotional resonance that captures the fury and frustration of the injustice on all fronts. The USA Gymnastics scandal shocked the world as a team doctor’s unchecked history of sexual misconduct came to light.

Dr Larry Nassar, a seemingly affable and sweet-natured man, was revealed to be a monster after over 500 women came forward with accusations of sexual assault during his tenure at USAG. What he advised patients was a specialised yet routine medical procedure turned out to be a gross sexual violation, often performed with parents in the room. Fielding numerous complaints, the USAG organisation continued to protect Nassar’s professional reputation, essentially enabling his mistreatment of young women. This unflinching documentary reinforces Athlete A’s investigation and unleashes raw emotion through courtroom footage.

Crazy, Not Insane (2020)

Renowned forensic psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis made it her life’s work to figure out how serial killers become serial killers. In this darkly fascinating documentary, character portrait and chronicle of her qualitative research, filmmaker Alex Gibney explores some of Lewis’s most famous cases and subjects. In trying to understand the mind of serial killers like Arthur Shawcross and Ted Bundy, her empathy and humanistic approach is refreshing and surprising.

Lewis believes people often become murderers as a result of a deadly mix of brain damage, a horrific upbringing and psychosis. Gibney adds weight to her findings with an entertaining, well-paced and polished film composed of key interviews, photographs and art. While infotaining, it’s also stylish, using emotive animated sequences to dramatise scenes and embedding her handwritten notes to give a textured feel. Crazy, Not Insane is a fascinating and openhanded account that offers evidence to support her revelatory and thought-provoking views without ignoring critics.

The Last Cruise (2021)

On 20 January 2020, there were only four confirmed cases of Covid-19 outside of Wuhan. On the same day, the Diamond Princess left Japan, soon to register as the first and largest outbreak of the coronavirus beyond China. The Last Cruise chronicles this fateful voyage using footage from passengers and crew to relive a terrifying historical turning point in the pandemic. Exploring living quarters and contrasting on-board experiences of passengers, crew and staff, this is an eye-opening account of the massive class divide on luxury liners.

Interviewing upstairs guests and downstairs “machine” employees, The Last Cruise captures some vivid snapshots and haunting insights as unprecedented virus panic sets in and hazmat medical screenings ensue. From mass aerobic exercise sessions and jam-packed theatres, holiday festivities soon evaporate as a serious lockdown turns the Diamond Princess into a working ghost ship and makeshift “prison” hospital. 

Doin’ My Drugs (2019)

Doin’ My Drugs is a music documentary but it’s no sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll rockumentary. This honest, intimate and raw film journeys with Zambian-born musician Thomas Buttenschøn, who returns to his mother’s homeland to make peace with his past after growing up in Denmark. Born HIV+, Buttenschøn has reached his dreams of becoming a musician and rising star thanks to his natural talent and antiretroviral drugs, which have helped him lead a normal life.

Rumours, misconceptions, ostracisation and fear of AIDs and HIV have made seeking help or getting tested problematic in Zambia, as well as the rest of Africa. This is why Thomas has made it his mission to educate and empower people through his music in collaborations with local artists. Directed by Tyler Q Rosen, this earnest character portrait and emotive message documentary is something special. It’s a joy to witness love-in-action as Buttenschøn embraces his role as a goodwill ambassador and spiritual guide.