Top Rated Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 164

Kestrel's Eye

1998

Kestrel's Eye

1998
6
Swedish filmmaker Mikael Kristersson directs this austere yet beautiful experimental documentary about two European falcons. Shot over the course of two years, Kristersson manages to fashion a narrative without the use of voice-overs or music, showing the falcons as they forage for food and tend to their eggs. Much of this film, though, is spent viewing the world from the falcons' vantage point -- high up on a 13th century church steeple, watching the groundskeeper tending to the village cemetery and the choir boys growing tired of a long religious procession. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Hellbound?

2012

Hellbound?

2012
6.5
Does hell exist? If so, who ends up there, and why? Featuring an eclectic group of authors, theologians, pastors, social commentators and musicians, HELLBOUND? is a provocative, feature-length documentary that looks at why we are so bound to the idea of hell and how our beliefs about hell affect the world we are creating today.
Climate Refugees

2010

Climate Refugees

2010
8
A documentary examining climate change and its impact on mass migration of people.
American Harmony

2009

American Harmony

2009
8.5
Every year thousands compete in the world's greatest singing competition - that you've never heard of. AMERICAN HARMONY journeys deep into the ultra-obsessive, zany, and heartfelt world of competitive barbershop singing, where passion is equaled only by raw talent, and the reward is not fame or fortune, but simply victory. The film focuses on four quartets vying to win the International Championships of Barbershop Singing, in what turns out to be the closest and most controversial victory in its 70 year history. Max Q is the heavy favorite - a superstar quartet comprised of former Champions. Looking to upset them is OC Times (The Heart-Throbs), Vocal Spectrum (The Rookies) and Reveille, an aging foursome who that has been together for 30 years. In total, fifty quartets duke it out for the coveted gold medal, while facing the pressures of quartet life - from big egos to brain cancer and everything in between. - Written by Colin King Miller
Intersexion

2012

Intersexion

2012
9
Director Grant Lahood follows Mani Bruce Mitchell, NZ’s first “out” intersex person, as he/she travels to meet other intersex people living in America, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Australia. Expatriate Kiwi sexologist Dr John Money of the world renowned Johns Hopkins Medical School believed that gender was the product of “nurture not nature.” His studies into intersex people led to a particular surgical treatment model for babies born with ambiguous genitalia – the idea being that doctors could produce healthy and happy men and women by intervening early in an intersex child’s life. Usually that meant a family secret that had to be kept at all costs. But as the film shows, human sexual development is never that straight forward. This is a heart-warming story told with a mix of laughter and tears in the most frank and revealing way.
Libby, Montana

2004

Libby, Montana

2004
3.8
Nestled below the rugged peaks of the Northern Rockies and along the crystal-clear Kootenai River lies the small logging town of Libby, Montana - an ironic setting for a town where many hundreds of people are sick or have already died from asbestos exposure.
Making War Horse

2009

Making War Horse

2009
9.5
The story of how Michael Morpurgo's children's novel became one of the most popular and acclaimed productions in the National Theatre's history.
Patagonia Rising

2012

Patagonia Rising

2012
7
A documentary that chronicles a plan to build five large hydroelectric dams on two of the world's purest free-flowing rivers in Patagonia, Chile.
Off Label

2013

Off Label

2013
4.8
A road trip through medicalized America, examining the pervasiveness of pharmaceutical drugs through the lives of eight very unique characters.
Beijing Taxi

2011

Beijing Taxi

2011
10
BEIJING TAXI is a timely, uncensored and richly cinematic portrait of China’s ancient capital as it undergoes a profound transformation. The film takes an intimate and compelling look at the lives of three cab drivers as they confront modern issues and changing values against the backdrop of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Through their daily struggles infused with humor and quiet determination, BEIJING TAXI reveals the complexity and contradictions of China’s shifting paradigm.
You See Me Laughin'

2002

You See Me Laughin'

2002
4
You See Me Laughin' is a personal journey into the lives and music of the last of the hill country bluesmen who've kept their music alive on the back porches and in the tiny juke joints of the Mississippi backwoods.
In the Bathtub of the World

2001

In the Bathtub of the World

2001
5.5
On January 1st, 1999, Caveh Zahedi started a one-year video diary. The idea was to shoot one minute each day. This is the result.
The Trail Of Tears: Cherokee Legacy

2006

The Trail Of Tears: Cherokee Legacy

2006
4.5
Explore America’s darkest period: President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to Oklahoma in 1838. Nearly a quarter of the Cherokee National died during the Trail of Tears, arriving in Indian Territory with few elders and even fewer children.
Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven

2007

Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven

2007
5.5
At the end of 2005, New York's famed restaurateur, Sirio Maccioni, closed Le Cirque, destination of the rich and famous. During 2006, he and his three sons, open a new Le Cirque, taking four months longer and $4 million more than planned. The film follows this process, the new restaurant's opening, and the emotional impact of two New York Times reviews over the next few months. Maccioni, in his 70s, seems tired, chained to his work for his sons's sake; then, the restaurant opens and his indefatigable charm returns. It's a roller coaster ride. At the film's end, Maccioni, with a small Gucci bag on his hip, receives communion in a church in his home town of Montecatini Italy.
Donor Unknown

2011

Donor Unknown

2011
1
All JoEllen Marsh knew about her biological father was that he was Donor 150; but she wanted to know anything and everything she could about her father’s genealogy. Thanks to a social networking website called the Donor Sibling Registry designed specifically for donor offspring, that becomes a possibility. Marsh slowly unravels Donor 150′s side of her family tree; meeting, one-by-one, her new-found siblings and discovering a plethora of uncanny genetic similarities. (Donor 150 must have had some damn strong genes!) Marsh and her siblings would like to meet the man from whom these common genes were inherited. A New York Times article about Marsh caught Donor 150′s eye, and the rest is history…
One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern

2005

One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern

2005
6.5
ONE BRIGHT SHINING MOMENT retraces George McGovern's bold presidential campaign of 1972 - a grassroots campaign that fought for peace and justice, and positioned ideas and people first. But what is remembered today as being the ultimate political defeat of the American Century may also have been its high watermark. The film poses this central question: what does the crushing electoral defeat of a man so well respected for his decency and intellect say about the electoral process, the American government, and more importantly, what does it say about the forces at work on the American people- then and now? Featuring interviews with the candidate himself, supporters and activists like Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, Warren Beatty, Howard Zinn, and music from Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Donovan, and Elvis Costello.
Proteus: A Nineteenth Century Vision

2004

Proteus: A Nineteenth Century Vision

2004
4
The animated documentary Proteus explores the nineteenth century's engagement with the undersea world through science, technology, painting, poetry and myth. The central figure of the film is biologist and artist Ernst Haeckel, who found in the depths of the sea an ecstatic and visionary fusion of science and art.
Paul Goodman Changed My Life

2011

Paul Goodman Changed My Life

2011
1
Paul Goodman, whose best-selling 'Growing Up Absurd' made him the philosopher of the New Left in the 1960s, was also a brilliant poet, out queer (and family man) in the 1940s, radical pacifist and visionary. His ideas and stubborn integrity helped many find a moral compass in the '60's -- and can do so again today.
Rejoice and Shout

2011

Rejoice and Shout

2011
6.5
REJOICE AND SHOUT traces the evolution of Gospel through its many musical styles – spirituals and early hymns, four-part harmony-based quartets, the integration of blues and swing into Gospel, the emergence of Soul, and the blending of Rap and Hip Hop elements. Gospel music also walked in step with the story of African-American culture – from slavery, hardscrabble rural existence and plantation work, the exodus to major cities, the Depression, World War II, to the civil rights movement and empowerment. REJOICE AND SHOUT connects the history of African-American culture with Gospel as it first impacted popular culture at large – and continues to do so. Years in the making, REJOICE AND SHOUT captures so much of what is special about this music and African-American Christianity – the sermonizing, the heartfelt testimonials, getting “slain in the spirit,” the hard hollerin’, and of course the inspiring music. Dare yourself not to be moved.
Big Bucks Big Pharma - Marketing Disease and Pushing Drugs

2006

Big Bucks Big Pharma - Marketing Disease and Pushing Drugs

2006
5.2
Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used, manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on the industry's marketing practices, media scholars and health professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors. Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big Pharma challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well-being.