2017 documentaries that are worth your time
Because documentaries can be so bloody good - at times, even way better than scripted feature films.
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- DirectorJames ErskineStarsSachin TendulkarMikail GandhiAnjali TendulkarA tale of a small boy with dreams and his journey to becoming the God of Cricket and the most celebrated sportsperson in his country.The film’s gripping narrative plasters a smile across your face from the get go, has you clapping and jumping in your seat at several moments, and leaves you tear-eyed with nostalgia as it draws to a close. Tendulkar’s life-story is so dramatically inspiring that you don’t need a dramatic script to capture it, and Director James Erskine is not only fully aware of this, he also makes sublime use of the tons of archive footage he has at his disposal. But that’s only half the job because encapsulating 24 years of fascinating struggles and triumphs in about 140 minutes is a herculean task, and for achieving this monumental feat, no amount of praise for Avdhesh Mohla’s surgeon-like editing would be sufficient.
The film is called ‘A Billion Dreams’ because that’s exactly what Tendulkar shouldered for 24 years. Around the late 80s and early 90s, India was starting to believe that it could stand with the best in the world on an equal platform, and the nation needed a hero symbolic to this newly acquired and rapidly spreading confidence – someone whom everyone could look up to as a beacon of hope to tell them that we’re no less than anyone in the world. That man was Sachin Tendulkar and this film is a celebration of how he shouldered that responsibility with pride, honor, gratitude, and humility.
Ultimately, you’re left clapping in ecstasy, jumping with joy (I’m not joking, that was the euphoric aura of my cinema hall), and engulfed in emotions that’ll take some time to dissipate and decipher after the credits roll. As you walk out of the theater, you’ll be telling yourself that, truly, there’s never been a sportsperson who’s given so many people so much hope and joy like Sachin Tendulkar has. It's one-of-the-best documentaries we'll see in our lifetimes, and I highly doubt if there'll be a better movie all year.
5/5 stars - DirectorNate AdamsAdam CarollaStarsCharlie AgapiouMario AndrettiA.J. BaimeIn the early 1960s, Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari went to war on the battlefield of Le Mans(TM). This epic battle saw drivers lose their lives, family dynasties nearly collapse and the development of a new race car that changed racing.Putting the viewer firmly in the driver's seat, The 24 Hour War makes us feel the full throttle of the engines as it documents the greatest rivalry in motor-sport racing. Without ever taking sides, Directors Nate Adams and Adam Carolla make you simultaneously root for both Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari as they go to war on the some of the most-perilous, exhilarating, and physically enduring racing circuits known to man. Fans of endurance racing will lap this up like cocaine addicts; critics of the sport and/or proponents of FI racing will develop a new-found respect for the origins of professional car races; and neutral observers will be introduced to a brilliant repository of information in the most-entertaining manner possible. The 24 Hour War is 1 hour 40 minutes of pure thrills and excitement, wrapped around two intense character studies of two profound individuals and their many men who made them shine. But, above all, it's a pulsating love letter to the golden days of the sport and how far it has come.
3.9/5 stars - DirectorPat KondelisStarsDave BlissRob FaubionRoshaun ValentineThe background of the 2003 murder of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy and the attempted, related cover-up of NCAA violations rampant in the Baylor basketball program by Coach Dave Bliss.3.6/5 stars