Welcome back to another monthly installment of all the documentaries I've watched recently. April wasn't a prolific month for me when it came to watching documentaries, largely because I took a week off to spend some time upstate with my good friend, Serena. But that isn't to say there aren't some amazing films on deck this time around. Most notably, we have two Oscar nominated films — Time (get the tissues ready!) and My Octopus Teacher (Oscar winner) — and a binge-worthy true crime series, This Is A Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist. Oh, and of course, we have my love, Stanley Tucci, whose series Searching for Italy may not be your typical documentary series I feature in these round ups, but he's just too delightful of a human not to include.
Stanley Tucci's Searching for Italy: Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci travels across Italy to discover the secrets and delights of the country's regional cuisines. (And let's just say, it's a major dose of eye candy for all the senses!) Available on Hulu, 8.7/10 IMDb rating
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel: One of the leading figures in fashion for decades, Diana Vreeland's life is presented from her beginnings in Paris, to her work as a columnist and magazine editor, and to her role as a curator of a fashion museum. Available on Amazon, 7.5/10 IMDb rating
Elizabeth & Margaret: Love and Loyalty: An exploration of the relationship between the Queen and her younger sister. Princess Margaret sacrificed her happiness for her sibling and the monarchy. Available on Netflix, 7.3/10 IMDb rating
The Eye of Istanbul: The legendary Armenian-Turkish photographer Ara Guler captures the essence of Istanbul over 60 years. Available on Amazon, 7.7/10 IMDb rating
The Line King: Al Hirschfeld: This documentary from Susan Warms Dryfoos follows the life and career of accomplished caricaturist and artist Al Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld rises to prominence drawing caricatures of Broadway actors and other celebrities for the New York Herald Tribune and the New York Times in the 1920s. His portrayals quickly become a rite of passage for rising theater actors. Available on Amazon, 7/10 IMDb rating
Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace: Follows the artist as he steps out of his comfort zone to create a series of paintings of women for the first time. Kehinde casts his models on the streets of New York and then enlists Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy to create couture gowns for each woman. Available on Amazon, 6.4/10 IMDb rating
This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist: In 1980, two thieves steal millions of dollars worth of art from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Available on Netflix, 6.5/10 IMDb rating
Time: Entrepreneur Fox Rich spends the last two decades campaigning for the release of her husband, Rob G. Rich, who is serving a 60-year prison sentence for a robbery they both committed in the early 1990s in a moment of desperation. Available on Amazon, 6.9/10 IMDb rating
My Love: Six Stories of True Love: Six longtime couples from around the world share their love stories in portraits filmed over the course of one year. Available on Netflix, 7.9/10 IMDb rating
Searching for Sheela: Searching for Sheela is a 2021 Indian documentary film created, directed and executive produced by Shakun Batra. The film traces the life of Ma Anand Sheela, who was the spokesperson of the Rajneesh movement, after she returns to India after 35 years. Available on Netflix, 4/10 IMDb (I won't lie — this wasn't nearly as great as Wild, Wild Country.)
My Octopus Teacher: A diver swims with an octopus that lives in a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa. Winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. 8.1/10 IMDb rating
Life in Color: David Attenborough explores the vital role that colour plays in the daily life of various species. For us humans, it is a source of aesthetic beauty and expression, but for animals it is an essential tool used for survival and without it, there would be catastrophic consequences. Available on Netflix, 8.6/10 IMDb rating
Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb: Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb is a 2020 British documentary film directed by James Tovell. The film follows a team of Egyptian archeologists that discover a tomb from the 25th century BC in the Saqqara necropolis, just outside of Cairo that had been untouched for 4,400 years. Available on Netflix, 7.2/10 IMDb rating
Now tell me, what documentaries have you recently watched? Any favorites?
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