Best Documentary Feature Film: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
I’ve got to be honest. Of the four categories that nominate entire feature films (yes, including Best Picture), I honestly think the Best Documentary Feature Film group is the strongest this year. Yeah. I said it. The worst film here is great, and the best film is — quite honestly — one of the best documentaries of the twenty first century; the second place doc here is nothing to sneeze at either, as it too is brilliant. This is some great company to be a part of, and each film has something extremely important to teach us. These five films are enlightening, immersive, and incredibly impactful. You really can’t go wrong with watching any of them. That being said, I do feel like they’re easy to rank, since I’ve had quite a bit of time to think about all but one of them (All That Breathes was the last film I watched when it hit streaming earlier this month). Even with this ranking in mind, I would definitely consider watching all of these films: they deserve your attention. Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: Moonage Daydream
I do believe that all five films deserve to be nominated, but I also feel like Moonage Daydream had a spot here (in fact, it would have made this batch of nominees even tighter, and arguably one of the best category groups in recent memory and within the Documentary Feature Film category specifically). This psychedelic love letter to David Bowie is mystifying, unique, and just gorgeous. It’s a refreshing way to look at the legacy of an iconic artist, and I feel like it sets a bit of a bar for the music documentaries surrounding a musician and/or band for years to come. I do consider its absence here to be quite a big snub, and that’s with all of my David Bowie bias and obsession stripped away from how I feel about this project.
5. A House Made of Splinters
The biggest surprise nominee is this short, minimalist documentary about an orphanage in the Ukraine. You retain so much information from the little that you see, because each shot tells a thousand words here (mainly about the atrocities of war, political turmoil, and other traumatizing factors that really affect children while they are developing). That I find especially effective about A House Made of Splinters is how you can tell it wasn’t meant to really tell a story as much as it is supposed to capture a reality, and yet you see lives change for the better (or worse) before your very eyes. If that doesn’t place you in the reality of this situation, nothing will. Everyone responds to hardship differently, and A House Made of Splinters is as bittersweet as a film can be.
4. Navalny
This film is astonishing. I feel so weird even discussing Navalny (in case my tiptoed review didn’t give that away) because of how much it reveals, who is being placed in the hot seat, and how big the magnitude of this film’s findings are (we haven’t seen anything yet). Navalny boldly drops bombshell after bombshell, and I would liken it to a great journalistic thriller if, you know, this wasn’t all real. In that case, the documentary — about a Russian political opposition leader that was poisoned (!) and lived to tell the tale — is actually terrifying to watch. Oh, is Navalny necessary to see or what? At least it’s a damn good documentary to boot.
3. Fire of Love
I find Fire of Love’s story the most basic of the five nominees (volcanic experts Katia and Maurice Krafft, who were also husband and wife, up until their unfortunate passing), but I absolutely adore how this film is pieced together: with the astounding footage captured by these scientists. Fire of Love is as nostalgic as it is educational; I felt my mind getting so much exercise between its yearning for the sensations of yesteryear and its consumption of so much information about volcanoes. I definitely have a soft spot for this film, and I stand by how strongly I feel about it: Fire of Love is everything I want in a documentary about passionate visionaries. I feel like I know these two people inside and out and felt every bit of their adoration for both each other and their field of study. Mission accomplished.
2. All That Breathes
This film would win for this category in almost any other year (save for this year and the last one: Summer of Soul is tough to beat as well). All That Breathes is so artistically brilliant in its approach, minimalist in its execution, and gigantic in how well it resonated with me. Seeing these two brothers try to save the black kites of New Delhi felt like a noble quest, but then the documentary focuses on as many other living beings as possible (as I pointed out in my review, I still cannot get over that shot of the snail; what other films would devote this time to them?). The impact felt by those committed to rescuing the lives of others is quite strong, but the overwhelming sensation — of both titanic love and crushing despair — comes from the realization that all beings matter, and there just isn’t enough going to to protect everyone. All That Breathes is definitely a must-watch for documentary fans. It definitely had me tearing up and feeling quite changed once those credits began to roll.
1. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Within seconds, I knew I was watching something special here. I felt sick to my stomach right away when All the Beauty and the Bloodshed began, because I was instantly exposed to the many deaths at the hands of Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family. Nan Goldin’s protests mirror her entire life as a photographical artist with much to say about the New York City underground, and this documentary feels like it is split in half for at least two thirds of its duration. Once the past and present merge together by the fifth or sixth chapter, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is perfect. Feeling the tidal wave of agony caused by the inconsiderate (be they large corporations or abusive loved ones) is impossible to ignore. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is definitely one of the most effective cinematic experiences I may have ever had, and I already know it will go down as an iconic example of the medium. I cannot praise this film enough.
My review of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Who I want to win: While I like all of these films, I want All the Beauty and the Bloodshed to cross the finish line with a win here, since it has cleaned up at many other ceremonies (it actually is one of the only two documentaries to win a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival).
Who I think will win: As it stands right now, I’ll say All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. However, I’ve seen enough upsets in this category to know that nothing can ever be certain when it comes to the documentary feature award (I still wince when I remember that The Act of Killing is not an Oscar winner). Should the award go to any other film, I can imagine All That Breathes or Navalny being dark horses in this race. Having said that, I honestly think All the Beauty and the Bloodshed has this.
EDIT: This ranking was written before the BAFTA awards happened. Consider Navalny a major contender now.
Tune in tomorrow for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee on every weekday.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.