Newest documentaries on Netflix

"When I watch a doc, at least once, I want my head to explode and my heart to feel. I want to see the world differently. Know something I didn’t know before. Engage me but most of all surprise me. Let there be an image, a person or a moment that never leaves.” Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon on the beauty of documentaries.

For most of us when we hear the word ‘documentary’ we almost always think of one film – that one time we gave the genre a chance. More often than not that one time turned out to be great, but it didn’t refer us to any other ones. That is because we believe that documentaries would only suit a particular mood, one we are almost never in.

Not only is this wrong given the variety of approaches to documentaries, but it is making us miss on some of the best films out there.

Make the decision to watch a documentary, and trust us, what follows will not disappoint. Below are 10 of the best documentaries available to stream on Netflix, like all other movies on agoodmovietowatch.com they are handpicked, highly-rated on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, and little-known.

P.S. We noticed that many of our users have been coming back to this list repeatedly so we added 5 excellent docs as bonus to the list.

As about as good as documentaries come, this is a truly entrancing narrative on famed Serbian artist Marina Abramović as she prepares for her titular 2010 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. Equal parts personal history, exposition of her artistic persona and presentation of her ultimate performance: a 736-hour piece where she ensconced herself silently in a chair and allowed museum-goers to sit before her, one at a time. An ostensibly peculiar concept made enchanting and invigorating by supreme cinematography and editing, not to mention the presence of the artist herself – a sensual and fascinating individual. Made me wish desperately that I had waited all those hours to sit before her.

An absolutely delightful documentary about the first round of testing on the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. Who knew that watching a roomful of scientists waiting for a blip on a screen could be so riveting? The science is explained in layman-friendly, easy-to-follow language, and the movie lends a fascinating and entertaining look behind the scenes at one of the world’s largest scientific collaborations.

An Academy Award nominated documentary about the genocide committed against nearly a million “communists” in Indonesia in 1965. Still in power, the paramilitary of Indonesia commonly known as the gangsters, call themselves “free men” and glorify their acts of government-sanctioned blatant extortion and heinous cruelty while the film cleverly juxtaposes them against the nation’s scarred history. The corruption, fear and violence that characterizes the figures of authority in the Indonesian military government are revealed in a raw manner in the film.

As its name suggests, the film will take you through the actual act of forcing a human to die. The gangsters that committed all those murders speak about and recreate the gruesome details of the circumstances, methods and experience of taking a life. Even more interestingly, they explore whether they believed it to be the right thing and how their conscience copes with the aftermath.

In its dark and abstract ways, it will have you question what you know not only about war crimes and government corruption, but on a much grander plane, about the treatment of the truth in history.

In 2010, Dutch 15-year old Laura Dekker set out on a mission to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Maidentrip is the beautiful and inspiring documentary film that tells her story as she took on this behemoth task.

The film lets you experience this adventure of a lifetime along with Laura, share at first in her loneliness at sea, and later in her desire to be left alone when surrounded by people. Documenting her thoughts and feelings during this voyage, Laura reveals herself to be wise beyond her years. Yet despite the magnitude of the task Laura has taken in, her teenager self still glows clearly with its distinct child-like quality – simply wanting to do what makes her happy – sailing and seeing the world. The sheer honesty in Laura’s narrative is what makes this story so extraordinary. You will accompany the young skipper against all odds as she follows her dream and in the process, lose and once again find her identity and sense of belonging. Maidentrip will leave you with an itch – an itch to travel, but more importantly, an itch to follow your dreams.

Undefeated won an Oscar but since it’s a documentary, few sadly payed attention to it. It tells the story of a football team in a poor area in Tennessee. Kids without a bright future, until the new coach arrives. Yes, that sounds like a very old, cliché tale. But keep in mind it is a documentary, and the story it tells is so powerful, so gripping, that any familiarity quickly becomes irrelevant. Even if you have no interest in American football, or in sports in general, you will love it and more than likely find yourself reaching for the Kleenex at least a few times before the credits roll.

Man on Wire is a true technical masterpiece. You can almost feel the director telling the cameraman what angle to choose, or thinking about the questions that will generate the most resounding answers. However, this does not diminish the story this documentary tells one bit. It’s one that is glorious, riveting, and fun. It’s one where you feel like an insider to a world lived on and below wires, with high-stake risks. Hopefully the edge of your seat is comfortable, because this is where the movie will keep you at all times.