Every Oscar season a documentary makes me cry. I am still haunted by The Last Man in Aleppo, when one of the Syrian fathers who volunteered to help bombing victims dies in a bombing, himself. I am a very emotional person who cries at the simplest thing, but when it has to do with real people and real lives, it effects me more. The five documentaries that are nominated this year had some real tear jerkers and I cannot wait to tell you about them.
The Mole Agent
This documentary starts out with a job listed in the paper seeking a man between 80 and 90 years old. The interviews are absolutely adorable, and prepare you for the mental capacity of the subjects of the film. One man is selected: an 83 year old man who has just lost his wife three months prior. His job: to infiltrate an elderly home, and find out if a client’s parent is treated well and their belongings are safe. The documentary takes a turn when this man becomes infatuated with all of the women who he encounters and the employees who treat him like a king once he arrives. One of the women you meet is an 85 year old virgin who falls in love with our mole. She eventually confesses her feelings to him and, still grieving, he must tell her he does not feel the same for him. Another woman who we meet is a woman who still believes her mother is alive and is going to visit her. She spends most of her time at the entrance to the elderly home trying to convince people passing by that she needs help escaping (which she eventually does and is brought back by police). She is, also, the only person who is stealing anyone’s belongings. Our mole ends the film by saying that the home is a wonderful place and the only crime being committed is that there are human beings inside that are very lonely. He makes a comment that the woman who put on the investigation to make sure her mother is being taken care of, only started the investigation because she does not want to check on her mother herself.
This documentary was heartwarming and eye opening. All these women want are their families to visit them. One woman admits that she had four children young so she could enjoy her life in her old age. But once she got to her old age, her children placed her in a home and never visit. “Life is cruel, after all,” she states. It is heartbreaking and if you are lucky enough to have your grandparents in your life, give them a hug and thank them for everything they did.
Collective
Collective was a film about a nightclub in Burachest that went up in flames during a show and 27 people were killed. Many, many were severely injured and 37 people died in the hospital from a bacteria. This caused an uproar which attracted the attention of a couple of investigative journalists who wanted to know why so many died once in the hospital. During an investigation, they found that hospitals were diluting disinfectants that were used in the hospitals. It dealt with the back and forth from the media and hospitals, that kept assuring that everything happening in the hospitals was safe. It was a decent film with good subject matter, but it did not capture my attention the entire time. I actually got a bit bored during the end. It was probably my least favorite of the bunch.
Time
Time had a unique way of presenting their documentary. It consisted of home movies recorded by a young mother who was raising her children alone due to her husband being in jail for a crime they both committed. She recorded different stages of her life, from visiting her husband to fighting for his release. It showed the injustice that black people face in the justice system and how unforgiving it seems to be. During the 18 years she parented alone her children ended up being amazing, intelligent, political activists themselves, and watching them grow was really fascinating. In the end, the woman’s husband is released and gets to be with his family again. Good story with a good ending.
My Octopus Teacher
Alright friends, let’s go down to the bottom of the sea for this next documentary, shall we? After watching this documentary, I am having a tough time imagining eating calamari again. Who knew Octopus...es?....Octopi?... were such adorable creatures? This film involves a man who meets an octopus during one of his diving adventures. He returns to visit this creature every single day for a year. You think it is going to be another oceanic documentary where you learn a couple facts about sea creatures and that’s it, but it is way more than that. It actually becomes quite emotional. At one point the octopus gets one of her tentacles bitten off by a shark, and you see the diver get emotional when he makes the choice to not get in the middle of the altercation. It also gets quite emotional when the diver sees that the octopus has found a mate, which means she will soon pass away. Now, my fiancé and I cracked quite a bit of jokes during this documentary. We found it funny when the documentarian stated during a dive that it was the best day of his life, and then he swam back to land where his son was. I would think the birth of his child was a better day, but what do I know? Ive never spent a day with an octopus. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film and think it is a great runner-up for this award.
Crip Camp
I am not a fan of gangster movies, so I was a bit tense going into this film. I hear “crip” and immediately think of the bloods and the crips. I don't know if its because I live in the epicenter of a lot of organized crime and gang activity, but these films are just too real to enjoy. The film opened up to a screen stating it was executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. Then it opened on a camp of young individuals who were all disabled. Thats when I learned that “crip” in this case was a shortened version of “cripple”, and that I could turn out the lights and relax during the viewing. Camp Jened is a place where people who are disabled can just be kids. At this time, in the 70’s, the American Disability Act had not been passed, so getting the opportunity to be normal was rare in this period of time. Seeing the scenes from this portion of the film reminded me of my big cousin John Michael. My cousin is autistic and has a great group of friends who have varying types of disabilities. Watching them and hanging out with them is such a blast. When they are all together, they have no self-conscious thoughts or doubts, and have fun in such a free way. It's just pure joy. I just know what a delight this camp would have been.
The documentary shifts to being about these exact same teenagers going back to their “real lives” where they are met with many adversities. Some of them even went back to institutions where they were treated like animals. It follows these teenagers as they decide to make a change and fight for the equality that they deserve. The climax of the film involves a 25 day sit-in led by Judith Heurmann (if you ever want to read about an amazing woman, google her) which led to many regulations passing. During a part of these protests I really started looking internally. I never knew anything about the Disability Rights Movement and felt very naive thinking the world had always been as accepting as it is now for people with disabilities. There was a scene where a group stood in the middle of traffic in New York. It made me think of the Black Lives Matter protests where I, selfishly, thought about the people who were stuck in the traffic during a street protest. I thought things like, “Im all for protesting, especially for this cause I believe in so strongly, but why do they have to inconvenience these people who are just trying to get to where they’re going?” This scene in Crip Camp, though, showed me how privileged I was for thinking this way. Look at how many lives have changed since that protest which led to the major, world-changing, sit-in! If that did not happen, then I know my cousin would not have been able to get an education, work his job, or enjoy everything like he does now. Sure, a couple people are inconvenienced during a protest in the middle of the street, but those numbers are minuscule compared to the lives that have always been inconvenienced due to something they cannot change.
Crip Camp was such an informative, eye-opening, entertaining film. It deserves to win. It also, deserves to be watched, so go to Netflix now to watch it. To check out the other four films visit Hulu, Amazon Prime, and some of your local theaters. Happy watching!
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