CHICAGO – Call me a critical cheater but I separated out documentary films from my traditional Best of 2012 but I don’t want to let the strong year for non-fiction film go un-recapped. The broad variety of documentary work in 2012 was incredibly notable from true crime stories to historical documents to stories of cities in crisis. Let’s hope 2013 is just as strong for the form.
10. “The Flat”
Arnon Goldfinger’s personal examination of his own family tree and how branches spread into Nazi history asks some questions that don’t have simple answers. When Goldfinger started to dig into his family past, he learned that his Jewish grandparents were incredibly close to a family who later became part of the Third Reich’s most important decision makers. And then they rekindled their friendship after the war. Were both side of this unique family friendship purely in denial? What about their children? How many generations does it take to find the truth? Can we ever?
9. “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”
Arguably the most important subject matter of the year is only not higher on the list because I question a bit how much actual filmmaking was done here as opposed to purely documenting an international activist icon. Ai Weiwei is a courageous, fascinating man who holds the camera as well as any subject this year and everyone should learn about his defiance in the face of potential incarceration and death at the hands of his own government. Did I really learn about what makes Ai Weiwei tick in this doc? Not really but I found myself wanting to know more, to do more research, and to see more of his work. Not all documentaries need to be the final statements on their subject matter. This one is more of a fascinating introduction.
8. “The Queen of Versailles”
Speaking of introductions, people who see Lauren Greenfield’s hilarious and poignant doc are unlikely to ever forget the time they met David & Jackie Siegel, perfect symbols of the excess that defined an era when the crystal chandeliers came crashing to the ground. What elevates “Queen” above the “Real Housewife of Time Shares” that it could have become is a true sense of care for the Siegels and their unique worldview. In particular, Jackie is a fascinating woman, one who it can be quick to define as spoiled and egocentric but who seems to be genuinely kind and warm-hearted. Not everyone behind those mansion gates are the deplorable misers or vapid trophy wives that you may believe. A very well-balanced and entertaining piece of work.
7. “How to Survive a Plague”
One of the best AIDS documentaries of the last few years is so because of the way it focuses almost entirely on archival footage, putting the viewer right at the center of some of the most important meetings in the history of gay rights. Rarely has the story of how activists pushed for drug tests to be sped up to stop the spread of the virus been more deftly conveyed. The answer to the question posed by the title is that one has to fight and in “Plague” we’re introduced to people who were fighting not just for their own lives but that of their entire community. It’s an emotional, powerful piece and the fact that it’s not higher on this list just indicates the strength of the genre as a whole.
6. “The Imposter”
Perhaps the most fascinating central character of the year in any documentary is the man at the core of Bart Layton’s examination of identity, greed, fear, and a true mystery. With elements that approach Errol Morris in the way one of the best documentarians of all time finds a way to make real people seem extraordinary, Layton turns Fredric Bourdin into one of the most memorable people of 2012. What makes a man pretend to be a missing child? What makes a family believe the lie? The best parts of Layton’s film play like a great Hollywood thriller although most tinseltown screenwriters would be laughed out of the city for coming up with something so unbelievable.
Click to page two for the top five.
5. “West of Memphis”
The saga of the West Memphis 3 is not yet over but Amy Berg’s documentary could be the complete, final statement on the time from the arrest of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin to their controversial release. Epic in running time, “West of Memphis” captures everything in the award-winning “Paradise Lost” trilogy and then goes beyond to further examine who likely actually committed an unimaginable triple homicide that became one of the most stunning true crime stories of the last two decades. We will not only have a full review early next year but an interview with Echols and wife Lorri Davis.
4. “Burn”
Maybe I’m just a hometown boy but the city I grew up and still love is brilliantly captured in this documentary about how it’s burning to the ground. Detroit firefighters are like no other in the country, mostly because the city gets 30,000 fire calls a year, more than any other. As so many people abandon the motor city, how does anyone keep it from burning to the ground? With a perfect mix of social insight and human stories, “Burn” is one of the best documentaries ever made about firefighting.
3. “Room 237”
I wonder if Rodney Ascher knew he was making one of the most critically divisive films of the year when he decided to interview some of the most passionate fans of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” While I understand that some people think that Ascher is somehow demeaning the very art of film examination, I don’t see it that way at all. In fact, I see the opposite in this rabbit hole journey into the minds of people who have watched one movie so many times that they’ve become nearly as delusional as its central character. I love Ascher’s structure and the way he intercuts undeniable truths about the film (like the Overlook’s bizarre floorplan) with undeniable nonsense like Kubrick’s face being in the clouds. It all starts to blend until just appreciating the film in any way is what’s important. Right? Wrong? Art is nothing until it is interpreted by a viewer and few films have captured that more interestingly than “Room 237.”
2. “The Central Park Five”
Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, & David McMahon don’t just convey the true story of justice gone horribly awry in New York City, they do so with a framing and structure that makes it riveting cinema. The story of five boys who were unjustly incarcerated for a crime that virtually everyone involved in their prosecution must have known they didn’t commit is fascinating on paper but the movie excels because of how its filmmakers present it as a byproduct of a city obsessed with crime and race. They don’t excuse the action of perverted justice but they more deftly portray how it happens than most films of this type. Riveting throughout and never more so than listening to the voices and stories of the men who had their developmental years ripped away by a city boiling in fear.
1. “The Invisible War”
Kirby Dick’s rallying cry for an international injustice to end is the most powerful and best documentary of 2012. A woman in the U.S. Army has a better chance of being sexually assaulted than of being injured in combat. That is such a shameful fact that it has inherent power even just in this feature but it’s the way that Dick presents the stories of unspeakable crime that elevates his film. Women who volunteer to protect us are not being protected themselves and the heroes of this group, the ones who rise up to fight back against a power structure that encourages this kind of behavior, are some of the most memorable people you’ll meet all year.
 [16] | By BRIAN TALLERICO [17] |
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