OT: Great Documentary Films?

[XXtwindad]

I read an article recently on the 50th anniversary of Philippe Petit’s high-wire traverse between the Twin Towers. The feat was immortalized and contextualized in the riveting 2008 documentary “Man on Wire.”

When I think of great documentary films, that one comes immediately to mind. The documentary medium might be my favorite art form, and I tend to like “smaller” films rather than grand, sweeping historical narratives (a la Ken Burns).

Some others I’ve seen recently:

“Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? (2022) about a college student’s quixotic (or noble) quest to obtain a jet as a prize (it’s actually hilarious and features cameos by Michael Avenatti, Cindy Crawford, and Manny Pacquiao.

“The Last Dance” (2020) The kiddos went off to summer camp, so I was finally able to binge watch. I know the rap was that since Jordan was a producer it was going to be a hagiography. I didn’t see it that way. I think it rendered Jordan a much more complex figure. Start with the ever present shot glass. Did it need to be in the frames? No. But it’s certainly there, along with an expanded gut and bloodshot eyes. And then there’s the quote in a segment where Jordan says “I didn’t drink.” Followed by a pause. “Back then, anyway.”

The famous hallmarks are there, of course. The competitiveness. The focus. The casual cruelty. It’s clear that playing against (and with) Jordan was rarely fun. But there were other surprising dimensions as well. Jordan has a great sense of humor, albeit a very caustic one. And he sought out a coterie of people to insulate him from the outside world. Most of his posse (if it could be called that) seem to be people that did mundane things for him which blossomed into a friendship. The security guards at the United Center, for example. His best friend (according to the film) is his chauffeur.

One of the most telling moments in the doc is when the interviewer asks Jordan (in 2020) whether he cares that he’s disliked by teammates. Jordan attempts to answer and has to fight back tears, finally getting up to turn the cameras off.

If anyone in the doc was portrayed as too invested in their own mythology, it would be Dennis Rodman. He seems incapable of being anyone other than the persona he created. If Jordan ultimately let down his guard, The Worm is still intent on playing no-holds barred defense.

Lastly, I re-watched the 30 for 30 doc “Once Brothers” (2010) Every basketball fan should see this. Actually, nix that. Even if you don’t like basketball, the fundamental grief, regret, and reconciliation that undergird the movie make it universal. It focuses on the world class basketball team of the former Yugoslavia - specifically the relationship between the Croatian Drazen Petrovic (the Steph Curry of his day) and the Serbian Vlade Divacs (who narrates the film). The long friendship between the two was left in tatters by the war that ripped apart the country, and Petrovic died in a car accident before the two could reconcile.

The film provides perspective on the war itself (at one point Toni Kukoc was told be his Croatian army buddies that he couldn’t associate with any Serbians, and he looks at the camera helplessly and shrugs) as well as the greatness of a player whose career was tragically cut short.

Other recommendations?