The 10 Best Documentaries of 2016 That Are Trying to Change the World
While high-profile dramas continue to dominate the ongoing award season, let us not forget the many phenomenal documentaries that were bestowed upon us over the past twelve months. Covering an extensive range of subject matter, from notorious criminal cases and political scandals to American race relations and music concerts, the cream of this year’s non-fiction crop cast an incisive eye on compelling people and unforgettable events, in the process revealing underling truths about the way in which we view ourselves, the world, and those with whom we share it. Upsetting, enraging and exciting, they were—no matter the genre—as good as anything projected on a big screen in 2016.
5. Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World
There may be no documentarian more enthralled and terrified by the world’s vast, expansive wonders than Werner Herzog, whose non-fiction cinema consistently investigates the far reaches of the planet and the human spirit. For his latest gem, the director casts his gaze on a virtual space—the Internet—to provide an episodic study of the ways in which we benefit from, and may yet fall victim to, interconnectivity. Far from simply a “The Sky is Falling!” doomsday proclamation, however, Herzog’s film is amazed by the innovation that we now take for granted (such as the Internet itself, of which no sci-fi writer ever conceived). Nonetheless, there’s also dread here, spawned by the realization that our dawning digitized paradigm is reconfiguring (if not outright warping) our emotional, social, and moral standards. Caught between celebration and condemnation, it’s a thoughtful consideration of the implications of our new world order.
View the complete film list on Esquire.