2022 marked another banner year for documentary cinema. They have inspired us, informed us, and taken us on unforgettable journeys. Documentarians have given us second looks at entertainers we thought we knew. They’ve examined systematic inequalities and looked inward at themselves. They’ve told personal stories that cover vast expanses of the human condition.
READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2022
This year we at The Playlist have expanded the list to twenty documentaries, from ecological pleas to a reconsideration of the film canon to portraits of artists of singular talent and vision. Although for most films on the list, we stuck with traditional feature-length films with theatrical or streaming premieres within the calendar window, you will see we broke a tiny rule for the number one spot. Without much further ado, we hope you find these docs as enthralling as we did.
Follow along with all our Best Of 2022 coverage here.
20. “This Much I Know to Be True”
It’s a little bit of feast or famine if you’re a fan of director Andrew Dominik. After a ten-year dramatic absence— his last narrative film was 2012’s “Killing Them Softly”) and a six-year doc sabbatical—2016’s ”One More Time with Feeling”—Dominik finally returned with two films in 2022, the polarizing “Blonde” and his second Nick Cave documentary “This Much I Know to Be True.” A kind of companion piece sequel to ”One More Time with Feeling”— about the making of 2016’s Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Skeleton Tree, created in the tragic wake of Cave losing his 15-year-old son Arthur— that making-of doc was certainly about grief. Still grappling with loss years later, the concert doc “This Much I Know to Be True” is essentially the next chapter, acceptance, and healing done in a kind of spiritual, illuminating performance. Radiantly capturing the gospel-like power of Cave and his musical partner Warren Ellis, Dominik’s doc is a little bit like attending church and watching Cave preach the word. Dominik suggested to us he could make a Nick Cave doc every few years, and sadly, he just might. Very heartbreakingly, Cave lost a second son, 31-year-old Jethro, just a few weeks after the doc came out is just crushing to try and contemplate. (our review) – Rodrigo Perez
19. “Moonage Daydream”
Directed by documentarian Brett Morgen, known for “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” and artistic portraits of famous figures, “Moonage Daydream” is a doc film about the late David Bowie and the first film ever sanctioned from the Bowie estate. It’s also, in many ways, another experimental collage-y “montage of heck,” but pushed even further into the abstract. Using unreleased footage from Bowie’s personal archives, including never-seen-before live concert footage, behind-the-scenes material and other ephemera, music videos, interviews, and more, Morgen creates less of a narrative and more of a sound and vision stream-of-consciousness with dazzling visuals and Bowie-led philosophical narrative about life and creating art. For 2.5 hours, “Moonage Daydream” doesn’t really tell a story, but it does swirl around in a kaleidoscopic fever dream spacey odyssey of images, and music, fading from one idea and set of visuals to another, over and over again. It’s arguably unending and exhausting but ultimately a mesmeric and rapturous tribute to arguably the most influential artist of the 20th century. (our review) – RP
18. “Sr.”
Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most famous actors on the planet. Still, there was a long time when he was just known as Bob’s kid—the son of the legendary but still-obscure filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. Along with directors like Jonas Mekas, Downey Sr. essentially helped kick-start the experimental counterculture New York underground film scene in the 1960s with anti-establishment and absurdist jags like “Chafed Elbows,” “Pound,” “Greaser’s Palace,” and his most famous film, the advertising satire “Putney Swope.” Directed by Chris Smith (“American Movie”), the film’s co-star, in many ways, is Robert Downey Jr. recalling the life and career of his father. But it’s far more than a historical deep-dive into a wild and eclectic filmmaking career. “Sr.” is just as much a very personal, intimate, and melancholy exploration of Jr. trying to understand and come to terms with his irreverent and rebellious father as he starts to get sick and reach the end of his life. Funny, moving, heartbreaking, and all of it, “Sr.” is the real deal and a beautiful tribute by a son about his father, the art he made, and the relationship they forged despite all the difficulties along the way. (our review) – RP
17. “Cow”
With her first foray into nonfiction filmmaking, “Cow,” celebrated director Andrea Arnold expanded on her signature realist style. Shot on location at Park Farm in Kent, England, Arnold takes a cinéma vérité approach to show the life cycle of a dairy cow called Luma. Shot over a few years, the doc captures everyday events and big life moments for Luma, from feeding and milking to insemination and the birth of her calf. Like many of her fictional characters, Luma’s eyes belie a free spirit stuck in circumstances beyond her control. But Arnold’s aim is not necessarily to lecture meat eaters about their consumption but rather to remind them to think about where their food comes from. To have a connection to the animals who give their lives to feed others is something we’ve lost as a society that has commercialized chiefly and depersonalized our entire food system. “Cow” is not an easy watch, but its bittersweet ode to Luma will linger on your mind long after its stark ending. (our review) – Marya E. Gates
16. “Last Flight Home“
Ondi Timoner’s intimate documentary “Last Flight Home” documents the final days of her 92-year-old father Eli’s life as he chooses its end. Meditations on mortality and the fleeting highs of life come into focus as Timoner intercuts the story of her father’s business history with the process of his medically assisted suicide. While this footage is heart-wrenching and powerful, it may also be triggering for those who’ve recently lost a loved one. To go through that much pain and share it with the world is astounding and one of the greatest gestures to destigmatize the right to die with dignity. Part home movie, part aviation history, and part fly-on-the-wall documentary, ultimately, “Last Flight Home” is a deeply felt family portrait and final goodbye to a beloved businessman, father, grandfather, and friend. – MG