documentary-style backdrop

Movies with documentary-style vibe

271. La Ciénaga

La Ciénaga
Drama Family Drama
7.0
20011h 41minArgentina, France
Director: Lucrecia Martel

Overview

Amid the sweltering summer heat in northern Argentina, two middle-class families retreat to a crumbling country estate and a modest townhouse, where strained relationships, simmering tensions, and the presence of children and servants quietly expose the fractures of family life. Between idle days, gossip, and unspoken desires, the boundaries of class, tradition, and faith are reflected in their everyday interactions.

Themes

Class inequality, Family fragility, Racial prejudice, Tradition and control, Domestic labor dynamics, Gender roles

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
HBO Max
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

272. Vizontele

Vizontele
Comedy Drama Satire Family Drama
8.0
20011h 50minTürkiye
Director: Yılmaz Erdoğan

Overview

The story takes place in the small town of Hakkari in Turkey at the beginning of the '70s. The time has come to bring technology to that small town. The first Television (called Visiontele by the citizens) arrives and the chaos begins.

Themes

Tradition vs media, Authority resistance, Rural modernization tensions, Technological disruption, Community adaptation, Public spectacle irony

Available on

Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

273. Italian for Beginners

Italian for Beginners
Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Family Drama
7.0
20001h 58minDenmark
Director: Lone Scherfig

Overview

Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.

Themes

Language course as bridge, Family ties reframe loyalties, Inheritance as catalyst, Romantic choices constrained, Workplace dynamics test bonds, Social isolation in suburb

Available on

Amazon Video
Hoopla
Fandango At Home
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

274. Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward
Drama Coming-of-Age Drama
7.2
20002h 2minUnited States
Director: Mimi Leder

Overview

Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Moral responsibility, Youth agency, Educator influence on action, Homelessness and housing instability, Diffusion of good deeds, Community mobilization across a country

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

275. Yi Yi

Yi Yi
Drama Family Drama
8.1
20002h 54minTaiwan, Japan
Director: Edward Yang

Overview

A Taipei family faces personal and moral uncertainty as everyday events test their relationships and sense of purpose.

Themes

Intergenerational care, Parental illness and care, Middle-class family strain, Romance versus obligation, Memory and time, Urban family dynamics

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

276. Bread and Roses

Bread and Roses
Comedy Drama Political Drama Workplace Comedy
7.0
20001h 50minUnited Kingdom, Germany
Director: Ken Loach

Overview

Maya is a quick-witted young woman who comes over the Mexican border without papers and makes her way to the LA home of her older sister Rosa. Rosa gets Maya a job as a janitor: a non-union janitorial service has the contract, the foul-mouthed supervisor can fire workers on a whim, and the service-workers' union has assigned organizer Sam Shapiro to bring its "justice for janitors" campaign to the building. Sam finds Maya a willing listener, she's also attracted to him. Rosa resists, she has an ailing husband to consider. The workers try for public support; management intimidates workers to divide and conquer. Rosa and Maya as well as workers and management may be set to collide.

Themes

Class inequality, Labor solidarity, Union organizing, Immigrant labor rights, Employer intimidation, Workplace exploitation

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Movistar Plus+ Ficción Total
MUBI
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

277. The Gleaners and I

The Gleaners and I
Documentary Social & Political Documentary
7.7
20001h 22minFrance
Director: Agnès Varda

Overview

Varda focuses her eye on gleaners: those who scour already-reaped fields for the odd potato or turnip. Her investigation leads from forgotten corners of the French countryside to off-hours at the green markets of Paris, following those who insist on finding a use for that which society has cast off, whether out of necessity or activism.

Themes

Economic necessity, Reuse from waste, Urban rural exchange, Legal boundaries of gleaning, Peripheral gleaning communities, Activism through salvage

Available on

Criterion Channel
DocAlliance Films
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

278. The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides
Drama Romance Coming-of-Age Drama Dark Romance
7.2
20001h 37minUnited States
Director: Sofia Coppola

Overview

A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.

Themes

Overprotective parenting, Male gaze pressure, Adolescent longing, Suburban isolation, Secrecy and performance, Collective memory

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

279. 28 Days

28 Days
Comedy Drama Psychological Drama Dark Comedy
6.1
20001h 43minUnited States
Director: Betty Thomas

Overview

After getting into a car accident while drunk on the day of her sister's wedding, Gwen Cummings is given a choice between prison or a rehab center. She chooses rehab, but is extremely resistant to taking part in any of the treatment programs they have to offer, refusing to admit that she has an alcohol addiction.

Themes

Addiction and rehab, Wedding day tensions, Car crash aftermath, Withdrawal and relapse risk, Group therapy dynamics, Autonomy in sobriety

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

280. Erin Brockovich

Erin Brockovich
Drama Legal Drama
7.5
20002h 11minUnited States
Director: Steven Soderbergh

Overview

A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.

Themes

Investigative persistence, Environmental injustice, Community mobilization, Corporate negligence, Legal accountability

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.