Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 162

Pyongyang Diaries

1998

Pyongyang Diaries

1998
1
This documentary records Hoaas' personal encounter with the closed society of North Korea. As with her earlier work, Hoaas approaches her film as a cumulation of fragments encompassing different perspectives that together offer a point of entry into a complex society. Her diary-style narration signals her limited personal perspective into this culture, especially given the brief filming period and her difficulty in breaking through the facade of the showcase version of Korea insisted upon by her official guides. Hoaas' restricted visual access, and her reluctance to present over-familiar images of the hardship and depravation informed her decision to use this narrative device to frame her film within the context of the famine crisis that began in 1997 following the failure of crops caused by two consecutive years of heavy flooding.
The Circle Closes

2015

The Circle Closes

2015
6
An examination of four different films which to varying degrees center on a prop or an object or an item that crosses various characters' lives and passes from hand to hand. The story in each film is, to a certain extent, told from the point of view of the object which can neither speak nor evaluate the actions of the characters whose lives it touches and influences. The films? MME DE..., WINCHESTER '73, VIRDIANA and AU HASARD BALTHAZAR.
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse

2016

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse

2016
7.5
Claude Monet was an avid horticulturist and arguably the most important painter of gardens in the history of art, but he was not alone. Great artists like Van Gogh, Bonnard, Sorolla, Sargent, Pissarro and Matisse all saw the garden as a powerful subject for their art. These great artists, along with many other famous names, feature in an innovative and extensive exhibition from The Royal Academy of Arts, London.
Sadness

1999

Sadness

1999
9
Based on photographer William Yang's one man stage show, "Sadness" chronicles two diverging narratives through the use of slide photography, oral history and stylised recreation. One story follows Yang's pilgrimage into the heart of the North Queensland sugar cane fields as he investigates the murder of his uncle Fang Yuen. The other is a series of moving portraits of the many friends and lovers Yang has lost to AIDS. Director Tony Ayres skillfully weaves these two separate stories together creating a powerful testament to family, friends, love and loss. Cinematography by Tristan Milani. Narrated by William Yang.
UnSlut: A Documentary Film

2015

UnSlut: A Documentary Film

2015
10
In 2013, seventeen-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons took her own life. The Halifax teenager had been gang-raped a year and a half earlier by her classmates and labeled a "slut" as a result. Despite transferring schools many times, she could not escape constant cyber harassment and in-person bullying. Rehtaeh's is not the only story like this to make headlines in recent years. Why is the sexual shaming of girls and women, including sexual assault victims, still so prevalent in the United States and Canada?
Inside the Mind of Favela Funk

2016

Inside the Mind of Favela Funk

2016
8
Set in Rio de Janeiro's most notorious favelas, the underprivileged youth share their perspective on the extremely popular, pornographic favela funk music with respect to their personal (love) lives, situated in a lawless subculture of drug gangs, machismo, violence and sex.
Hear Me Now

2015

Hear Me Now

2015
10
A documentary that candidly examines school bullying and how it can be dealt with, told by those who experienced it first hand.
Looking for Istanbul

2012

Looking for Istanbul

2012
6
Looking for Rio

2014

Looking for Rio

2014
6
No Control

2014

No Control

2014
6
With over 300 million firearms, the U.S. holds the highest rate of gun ownership per capita in the world. Meanwhile, with each gun-related tragedy, the question remains whether to regulate or to arm. Increasing demand, illegal distribution and emerging 3D technologies threaten to upend the traditional debate of gun control. As discussed in interviews from Austin to Grand Rapids, Denver to New York City, NO CONTROL seeks to address the efficacy of gun laws and the ongoing debate between personal freedom and public safety in a candid discussion of one of the most complex, contentious issues in American history.
In Limbo

2015

In Limbo

2015
7
IN LIMBO s a documentary essay that questions the world of memory that we are all building, through the everyday digitization of our lives and our environment. The voice of a mysterious spirit (embodied by Nancy Huston) wakes up in the maze of data centers which makes up the global network. As though there were nothing left on Earth but this huge machine, still running. Diving into her memory, she is fascinated by the strange life that lies within, inhabited by ghostly characters (the Internet's founding fathers, Google CEOs, digital librarians, etc). Enchanted by the promises of this world, she abandons herself into it. Pure soul, she wanders through this after-life, attempting to once more experience the essence of nostalgia.
In Between

2015

In Between

2015
7
Once there was an age of ice but it is disappearing. This is a lyrical and thought-provoking film about the death of an era and a moment in time. A time when stoic creatures are caught in between what once was and what will inevitably come.
Rabbit in the Moon

1999

Rabbit in the Moon

1999
2
Like many Japanese Americans released from WWII internment camps, the young Omori sisters did their best to erase the memories and scars of life under confinement. Fifty years later acclaimed filmmaker Emiko Omori asks her older sister and other detainees to reflect on the personal and political consequences of internment. From the exuberant recollections of a typical teenager, to the simmering rage of citizens forced to sign loyalty oaths, Omori renders a poetic and illuminating picture of a deeply troubling chapter in American history.
Fire and Ice: The Rocket Richard Riot

2000

Fire and Ice: The Rocket Richard Riot

2000
1
In 1955, as a hotly contested hockey season was coming to an end, the star of the Montreal Canadiens, Maurice "the Rocket" Richard, was suspended for attacking an opponent with a stick and hitting a referee by then president of the NHL Clarence Campbell. This set off a huge riot in the streets of Montreal. The documentary claims, unconvincingly, that this event added to the sparks of the political revolution in Quebec that led to the rise of the separatist movement.
Frames of Reference

1960

Frames of Reference

1960
9.5
An educational physics film utilizing a fascinating set consisting of a rotating table and furniture occupying surprisingly unpredictable spots within the viewing area, Leacock’s Frames of Reference (1960), features fine cinematography by Abraham Morochnik, and funny narration by University of Toronto professors Donald Ivey and Patterson Hume, in a wonderful example of the fun a creative team of filmmakers can have with a subject other, less imaginative types might find pedestrian.
Paul Smith: Gentleman Designer

2015

Paul Smith: Gentleman Designer

2015
6
An intimate and provoking portrait of Lord Paul Smith, quirky designer and formidable businessman, through exclusive access to a poet of British fashion. Paul Smith has 400 shops and outlets in 35 countries, 12 clothing lines, 400 million Euros in yearly revenues, sales topping Chanel's, partnerships with Evian, Apple, and Austin, and prestigious bicycle and race car brands. The secret of his success? Who is Paul Smith? How has he managed to get millions of men interested in fashion? How did a modest man from Nottingham become synonymous with elegance in men's fashion?
The Man Who Drove with Mandela

1998

The Man Who Drove with Mandela

1998
10
During the time of apartheid Nelson Mandela drove around South Africa in a limousine disguised as a chauffeur while organizing the armed struggle against the apartheid regime. But who was the distinguished looking white man sitting in the back seat? Meet Cecil Williams, an acclaimed gay white theatre director and communist.
Mon père, la révolution et moi

2013

Mon père, la révolution et moi

2013
8
A documentary tragicomedy of a father-daughter relationship, told by the subjective perspective of the young director. She tries to understand how a revolutionary could have become a criminal and an alcoholic, and why he abandoned his family. Freely juggling between documentary, fiction and animation, the director takes us on a journey around the world. The daughter of a former communists visits the ports of the revolt, where communities are trying to realize the concrete utopia.
A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers

2015

A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers

2015
1
Follows three women in an all female, predominantly Muslim unit of police officers sent to post-earthquake Haiti as UN Peacekeepers for one year. The mission challenges these women while shattering commonly held stereotypes.
Message From Hiroshima

2015

Message From Hiroshima

2015
8
This documentary provides an inside look at the devastating effects of the first atomic bomb dropped, as depicted in testimonials from survivors, and computer-generated recreations of the city and way of life that were lost.