Three Amazing Documentaries on Netflix

Good documentaries are hard to find. I think it's actually one of the toughest genre's for me to add to my list of the best Netflix movies. I personally love documentaries. Unfortunately, Netflix seems to be ok with someone holding a camera on their shoulders and pretending they live an interesting life instead of focusing on the award winning list of movies I have below. Also, there's a lot of sites out there that claim to have "60 of the best Netflix documentaries" out there, but I just don't get it. Great documentaries are few and far between. I can't guarantee that I can recommend 60 documentaries for you to spend your time watching, but I can guarantee that you will enjoy these three.

Touching The Void

Man, you think you got it bad? Try getting stuck on one of the most dangerous summits of the Peruvian Andes! Touching the Void takes you through the amazing true story of Joe Simpson's and Simon Yates's quest to conquer a mountain few have dared to climb. I mean you know going into the movie that some stuff is going to go down, but all of a sudden it goes from an intense, scary story to a downright nightmare. Watching these guys struggle to survive is both mentally and physically exhausting, and I'm sitting on a couch! You just can't help but feel for them after things just get worse and worse. It's hard to believe it's actually a true story. I don't want to give too much away, but I don't think this one is going to turn out like you expect. You really have no idea of the ending throughout the movie unless you've read the true story ahead of time. But don't do it! It's much more interesting going through this rollercoaster of emotions.

The Look of Silence

This is a pretty horrifying documentary. As I mentioned in my initial review, The Look of Silence is a movie that you should make yourself watch. It's the age old saying of "If you don't learn from the past you're doomed to repeat it." It's a terrifying story of the 1960's genocide in Indonesia. The story follows a middle aged man who attempts to track down the men that brutally murdered his brother. All identities are hidden from the main character, even down to the production crew for fear of retaliation. He manages to gain access to the men responsible under the pretense of his profession as an Optician. When I think of Indonesia, I honestly just think about paradise. I had now idea of this part of their history. Of course, this documentary rightfully won a ton of awards. What I got out of this film is that it's always necessary for us to speak up about such atrocities against human rights, and to never remain silent.

The Fear of Thirteen

Ok. Talk about stranger than fiction. This one definitely had the Making a Murderer feel at first and for me, it is one of the most interesting Netflix documentaries. As it picks up, you don't know exactly what's going on and you struggle to believe it might actually be a true story. If you didn't already know, The Fear of 13 is about Death Row inmate and convicted murderer, Nick Yarris, and how he found himself locked up. The director keeps the story going at a fast pace with great cinematography. You get a glimpse of life on death row through Nick's stories, starting from when he was a youth to when he was close to death row, and all the twists and turns in between. I don't want to ruin anything for you about this one, but please, take the time to watch it. Look past all the connotations of death row inmates and get prepared for a story that is truly remarkable. Nick Yarris is clearly an intelligent man and a great story teller.

So there you have it. Three of the best documentaries on Netflix. Amazing documentaries on Netflix aren't a dime a dozen and if you like what you see, please feel free to sign up for my newsletter on my homepage. I'd love to share some more gems I find with you.