I’m going to do a bit of a different take on the idea. Instead of looking at movies that can be watched a few different ways and people can come to different conclusions, since Royce did such a great job with that, I’m going to go with a very elusive subgenre of film; so bad it’s good.
What goes through your mind when somebody tells you a movie is “bad?” Do you care about critics’ opinions? What about the general consensus among a wider audience? Or what if it’s a close friend? I’m one of those people in favour of watching a film with as little background information as possible, which includes avoiding trailers and critics’ reviews. Of course, this is easier said than done for those who frequently saunter through the infinite depths of digital media. (Trailers come in the form of ads on pantloads of YouTube videos nowadays… sometimes too often!) But there are times when I’m too curious about a film, particularly those that don’t usually have a lot of praise among my social circle, which leads me to do a quick Google search on a film’s reception. And, unsurprisingly, there have been innumerable instances where I haven’t agreed with the overall critics’ ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, as I’m sure you’ve experienced as well.
I am not so deluded as to think that the majority of people turn to a nice, juicy, critical analysis of a real-life topic in the form of a full-length film on a Friday night. I’m probably in the (very cool, very sophisticated) minority with my love of a good documentary. It’s pretty rare for me to find someone who shares my appreciation for a good talking head. (Not to be confused with the iconic David Byrne band). I have a friend who is my twin in many ways. In fact, we refer to each other as “my twin.” We once spent a night eating tacos, playing Dance, Dance, Revolution, and watching a cult documentary. The classic documentary structure is so ingrained in us that we don’t even notice it anymore. The lower thirds, the montages, the expert talking heads/family members/witnesses/celebrities. Of course, some documentaries do it better than others. The choice of subject is important, to start with. The ones that captivate my attention foray into a completely unexplored topic. Sure, I’ll catch the odd true crime documentary that’s trodding over familiar territory, but those ones have their own, unique appeal. In general, I want to know something I’ve never known before. The following documentaries are in our physical collection or we provide access to them through the Kanopy streaming app. They might not be the most flashy or spectacle-driven media in existence, but if you give one a chance, it might just prompt you to do your own deep dive into the granular detail of reality.
