I Am Greta by Nathan Grossman (2020)
Swedish climate warrior Greta Thunberg, now 20 and out of school is more innovative than ever in her activist strategies. She capitalised on the Barbie fever recently by using the line from Greta Gerwig’s film “Do you ever think of dying” to instagram a post about the urgent need to take stock of climate change.
Thunberg has evoked overwhelming support around the world as well as select rationalist critiques alike. So a documentary on her would’ve worked best with a slightly objective approach, for a well-rounded portrait. Nathan Grossman 2020 documentary is instead quite a flattering portrayal. But the sheer amount of rigour and work that have gone into the documentary make it highly watchable.
Grossman, catches Thunberg early, in August 2018, when the teen (at age 15) begins a solo “school strike” in front of the Swedish parliament. Her blunt warnings about the environment catch on, and go global. I Am Greta the follows its subject on press gaggles, youth marches, United Nations speeches and meet-and-greets with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emmanuel Macron and the Pope. He even accompanies her on a long and arduous ship ride from Sweden to New York.
The Kingmaker by Lauren Greenfield (2019)
As a documentarian, Lauren Greenfield goes for high-profile subjects. The Queen of Versailles (2012) is about the fortunes of Florida billionaires David and Jackie Siegel just as they are in the middle of building a 90,000 square-foot estate. Generation Wealth (2018) is a world-roving documentary about materialism, celebrity culture and the obsession to be rich at any cost. Her latest work, Kingmaker (2019) is about Imelda Marcos, first lady of Philippines who, in the 1980s and 1990s became known for her staggeringly luxe and large collection of shoes.
“Perception is real, and the truth is not,” announces Marcos. This is Greenfield at her best. She follows Marcos for a long period of time, and at her home, she is the most candid. Like in her other documentaries, she captures her subject in her elements: blinged-out and regal in an outlandish way, while the viewer processes the subliminal tone she has, which is satirical and shocking. The kingmaker’s vanity is on full view, and the horrors of the Marcos family’s tyranny in Philippines is a reminder of injustice and brutality everywhere, resulting in the juiciest insider look at an unbelievably corrupt world leader.
The Dissident by Bryan Fogel (2020)
One of the best political documentaries to have been made in recent history of the genre, Bryan Fogel’s The Dissident is about the devastating murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and dissident inside a consulate in Istanbul in 2018 by agents of the Saudi government at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The subject itself is filled with enough narrative juice. Fogel goes the extra mile bay making it as cinematic as possible, by deploying a truculent music score, frenzied editing and CGI elements. The pathos of Khashoggi’s story comes dramatically alive. It has the tone of a spy thriller. A must-watch.
Armed With Faith (2019)
Produced by Oscar-winning Pakistani producer-director Sharmeen-Obaid Chinoy, and directed by Asad Faruqi and Geeta Gandbhir, Armed With Faith follows a bomb disposal squad in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
The film has a news-reel, candid camera feel to it and tries to answer the question, “Why would anyone in their right mind go up to a potential bomb?” The brave men who are the subjects, say their motivation is as simple as doing job. The film arrives at its astonishing moment is when one of the squad member actually sympathises with the disillusioned people who plant the bombs. Interspersed with interviews with their families, Armed With Faith brings out the fear the men live with, in a boiling narrative with some edge-of-the-seat moments. It is a vital and compelling work, which won the 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary.
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