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Docs Rock

4 stars out of 5.0

Inspired by the release of “American Teen”, we’ve compiled own playlist of must-see twenty first century documentaries.

It’s been quite a decade for non-fiction filmmakers. Once synonymous with earnest and boring, the genre has undergone a radical facelift and enjoyed the kind of box-office success that would have been beyond the wildest dreams of the old guard of fly-on-the-wall practitioners. If Michael Apted had been charting the life cycle of the documentary film over the past half-century in an alternative version of “7 Up”, he might well have concluded that life begins at 40…

What’s changed? For a start, the old verities about “objective truth” have loosened up quite a bit with the break up of TV monopolies and many more voices and visions claiming a stake in configuring what’s real. Michael Moore, more than anyone, has pioneered the idea that documentary can be more like an editorial piece than straight news reportage: his films are opinionated, witty, entertaining and don’t pretend to have any “balance”.

Reality TV has given us unfiltered access to people from all walks of life, while new, light, affordable and in some cases tiny digital cameras have opened up areas of the world that were considered off-limits before. Filmmakers don’t need to record sound separately anymore, so a crew of one is theoretically possible. They can even edit at home on their computer. Jonathan Caouette’s “Tarnation” claimed a budget of $218 and played all over the world, from the Cannes Film Festival on down.

“American Teen” is another case in point. Director Nanette Burstein was able to get incredibly intimate scenes with her midwestern adolescents making out, committing vandalism, and sharing thoughts with the camera that they would likely never admit to their parents (or their therapists).

But it’s not just teenagers: penguins, rock stars and gangsters have all endured unprecedented levels of exposure – and we’ve enjoyed watching them endure.

Here, then, for your delectation, are our top docs of the decade.

Tom Charity
tom.charity@lovefilm.com

Top Docs of the Decade, 1999-2009

Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Michael Moore rewrote the rules of engagement with this wide-ranging polemical response to American gun culture.

Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
More Moore. This satire on Dubya’s War on Terror won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and became the first documentary to break $100 million

Super Size Me (2004)
Morgan Spurlock may resemble mini-Moore, but this acerbic riff on the dangers of junk food got a lot of people talking.

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Of all the campaigning agit-prop docs, this pimped up slide lecture from former VP Al Gore is surely the one that has reshaped the political agenda.

Grizzly Man (2005)
Werner Herzog edited footage by self-styled eco-warrior Timothy Treadwell and unearthed poetry, madness and horror.

The Aristocrats (2005)
One unspeakable joke and a cast that resembles a who’s who of American comedy.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
All too prescient expose of the greed, smoke and mirrors that contributed to the current economic meltdown.

The Fog Of War (2003)
Fascinating oral history from the equally respected and reviled former US Secretary of State Robert McNamara.

Dogtown and Z Boys (2001)
Stacy Peralta’s first person account of the birth of sk8 culture.

Capturing The Friedmans (2003)
A family implodes – on camera – as accusations of child abuse surface.

Touching The Void (2003)
Riveting reconstruction of a climb to hell and back.

Etre et Avoir (2002)
Early learning in a rural French community. Part delightful anthropological study, part time machine.

DiG! (2004)
What does it take to make it as a rock star today? The Dandy Warhols vs The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Spellbound (2002)
Eight teenagers who all want the last word.

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)
Nick Broomfield returns to the subject of serial killer Aileen Wuornos as she faces execution on Death Row.

Darwin’s Nightmare (2004)
Unforgettable and incisive vision of an African environmental catastrophe.

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