The all-time best documentaries on Netflix right now

Documentaries bind us all together. The aspect of documentaries that draws in the majority of viewers is the essence of actual life that can be gleaned from the compilations of archival material, images, talking heads, pre-recorded audio, and sequences of physical excursion or straightforward mundane duties. Even when you’re seeing something that is obviously prejudiced, there is an irrefutable sense of genuineness. There is a definite sense of intimacy, as if the audience has been allowed a brief glimpse inside the filmmaker’s head, even when the broad emphasis of the movie is constricted to match a preconceived storyline. Great documentaries convey something really personal, perhaps even intimate, by employing many real-world examples to show universal, everyday reality. 

There are several excellent documentaries on Netflix that cover a wide range of topics, including true crime, sports, and even filmmaking. We’ve put together a list of the top documentaries currently available on Netflix below.

The Tinder Swindler (2022)

1 hr 54 min | Felicity Morris

On Tinder, we’ve all seen men who appear to be a little too good to be true. Images of a life spent travelling, wearing fancy watches and outfits, and living immaculately. While some may choose to swipe left, others may enthusiastically swipe right to give it a shot since for them, it’s about the possibility of finding their ideal mate. This is how Simon Leviev’s con started. The charismatic Simon quickly wins the hearts of women by luring them in and love-bombing them with presents, lavish trips, and protestations of love. Before long, a woman is transferring money to the charming Simon when he is suddenly hurt by an attack by his “enemies.” The Tinder Swindler succeeds in demonstrating how simple it is for guys to defraud women and command them, tricking them into sending him hundreds of thousands of dollars on the basis of some fabrication. Simon is a dangerous predator who still exists today, to to the dismay of this critic, using his victims as fuel for his lavish existence. The Tinder Swindler serves as a continual reminder that con artists will stop at nothing to succeed in their deception and that trust should not be taken for granted in the realm of online dating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R3LWM_Vt70

Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story (2022)

1 hr 12 min | Nicola Marsh, Giovanni Reda

Follow Leo Baker as he rises to the pinnacle of professional skateboarding in Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story, an unexpected trip into a frequently disregarded sport. The competitive character of skate culture, which developed from the local skate park to the international stage and swiftly turned into an elite inner circle, is explored by directors Nicola Marsh and Giovanni Reda. Leo Baker is able to explain how his abilities propelled him to the top, creating a path for others to follow and creating a welcoming environment for the LGBTQ+ community through the documentary produced by Marsh and Reda.


White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch (2022)

1 hr 28 min | Alison Klayman

With White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, a well-known documentary exploring the store’s rollercoaster ride within American society, you can plunge into the drama of a peak trend from the late 1990s and early 2000s. White Hot, which was directed by Alison Klayman (Jagged), explores the all-American brand that gained influence by excluding race, class, and just about anything else it could. Taking a close look at each choice the brand took that helped it rise before everything fell apart, White Hot analyses the pop cultural phenomena. Whether or not they wore the brand, any mall rat in the millennial generation will enjoy watching the detailed, fast-paced documentary White Hot.


Our Father (2022)

1 hr 37 min | Lucie Jordan

Our Father is a documentary that demonstrates that sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. It is shocking, unsettling, and – at times – just plain bizarre. The movie exposes Donald Cline, a former fertility specialist in Indianapolis, who used his sperm to conceive scores of his patients without their knowledge. As we watch a woman’s at-home DNA test turn into something greater and more evil than anyone could have ever anticipated, there are numerous moments that will leave you in awe.


The Sparks Brothers (2021)

2 hr 15 min | Edgar Wright

Despite being the favourite band of your favourite band, Sparks, who have released 25 albums throughout the course of their 50-year career, have mostly gone unnoticed. With the excellent The Sparks Brothers, director Edgar Wright attempts to correct that by examining the full career of pop-rock duo Ron and Russell Mael. Given the band’s extensive discography and the fact that Wright’s film is only two and a half hours long, there isn’t much room for anything else. As a result, by the end of the movie, you’ll feel the same way about Sparks that he does. This is in contrast to other music documentaries that attempt to examine the personal lives of their subjects. It’s a gift of musical understanding.


Sad Hill Unearthed (2017)

1 hr 26 min | Guillermo de Oliveira

For anyone who considers themselves a fan of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, this is a must-see, but it’s also a good reflection on what it means to be a fan and how we show homage to the works of art that have influenced our lives. The Sad Hill Cemetery is the site of Sergio Leone’s groundbreaking western’s conclusion, but over time, the cemetery grew overgrown and lost any resemblance to the scene. A group of admirers decided to take it upon themselves to renovate the cemetery and so produced what can only be referred to as a labour of love. While numerous documentaries on fandoms exist, this one is really based on a single scenario.


Rolling Thunder Revue (2019)

2 hr 22 min | Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese’s documentary Rolling Thunder Revue, which details Dylan’s 1975 concert tour, examines the line that Bob Dylan has always walked between fiction and non-fiction in his persona. Scorsese weaves fact with fiction in Rolling Thunder Revue, leaving it up to the spectator to figure out what is real and what is made up. On this tour, which at times seems more like a circus than a performance, there is wonderful concert video of Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and many other artists performing. With his past music documentaries, Scorsese has demonstrated his ability to delve deeply into what makes an artist so alluring and to play it up into fantastic movies.


Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art (2020)

1 hr 29 min | Barry Avrich

Imagine having a sizable art collection. You are familiar with the well-known names, but can you identify a fake? Most likely not immediately, which is why you leave it to dealers and galleries to confirm the legitimacy of artworks. What transpires, though, if the gallery knowingly aids the fraud? This was the case in Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art, in which the renowned and well-respected Knoedler & Company was used to commit the greatest art fraud in history. How much did those working for Knoedler know? Were they misled like their consumers, or did they voluntarily turn a blind eye since they had joined a successful scheme?


The Bleeding Edge (2018)

1 hr 40 min | Kirby Dick

When purchasing a new cell phone or video game system, you might want to choose for the newest technology, but you need exercise greater caution when choosing the foods you put into your body. In their 2018 documentary, producers Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy, along with writer-director Kirby Dick, look at the medical device sector and shockingly find that capitalism has infiltrated the FDA, the regulatory body tasked with monitoring the devices that physicians are implanting into patients. The Bleeding Edge will alter the way you interact with your doctor the next time you require an invasive surgery with its potent blend of personal experiences and steps back to examine the bigger issues.


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