Reviews

Not sure if I believe her story about the self-determined, happy sex worker 100% but the film was incredibly well produced. It’s quite the relief to watch a documentary with a lot of comic relief. Recommended!
—VIFF 2025, film No. 13–

Watched on date night with the husband in a real movie theatre. Yeah! I was frightened of the almost three hour-run but thankfully, the story was plot-driven and humorous. Time flew. Leonardo DiCaprio was fantastic, as were most of the actors. I wasn’t a big fan of the domestic terrorism plot (reminiscent of the Rote Armee Fraktion in Germany, does such a violent leftist movement even exist in the USA?), nor of the highly sexualized and violent story around the young Black woman terrorist in the film.
Also too many car chases and violent scenes for my taste but that’s hard to avoid in movies these days. The father-daughter relationship was beautifully done.
I haven’t read a professional review yet but will do now.
We went to the movies because my husband had seen all the five star reviews!

Fantastic poster for a documentary that shouldn't exist. What I mean is, it's incredible that third world country-conditions and medieval approaches of justice are ongoing in these prisons in the United States of America. Aren't the decision makers in Alabama devout Christians?
This situtation is a debacle and should not exist.
Very good editing and producing work on this film, which made for unpleasant but necessary viewing.

Finished the series in a week of sittings. It started out with a stereotypical premise (the hero mourning their dead child) but the plot took up speed in the second half of the first episode and did not fade afterwards. While the plot is mostly implausible, once you suspend your disbelief, the action is fast and terrifying. The actors are all top notch. Production value is great.
There was a lot of online talk about Claire Danes’ permanently moving face but I think she did a fantastic job, as usual.

I watched this film before the announcement of the Oscar shortlists in December 2025. The film had a great publicity and distribution campaign, having premiered at the Venice film festival and acquired by Netflix.
I've heard interviews with the director, Petra Costa, on a variety of documentary-focused podcasts. Some podcasters even invited her several times.
Therefore, the film was high on my watchlist, but as I was watching it (on Netflix), it couldn't excite me.
First of all, the plot of the film felt a bit dated. Bolsonaro is no longer the president, and Lula da Silva is back at the helm of the country.
I did recognize the eerie resemblance between the rise of right-wing politicians and evangelical leaders in both Brazil and the USA, but I still felt a bit detached from it.
I was hoping to learn more about Bolsonaro, but instead the film focuses on far-right televangelist Silas Malafaia, who is always blunt but also somewhat repetitive throughout the almost two-hour film.
In addition, probably for a lack of charismatic protagonists, the filmmaker often repeats visuals of crowds and government buildings in the city of Brasília.
I understand it's a political documentary of great value to Brasil, but it was just not entertaining or inspiring to me.

Watched the film in advance of the 2026 Oscars shortlist announcement. Knowing that this was a film consisting mostly of bodycam footage, my expectations were low. However, the editing of the footage and audio clips was masterful.
The film gives a lot of food for thought and is quite moving. I literally cried during some of its scenes.
Gives a whole new meaning to "cinéma vérité."
It was great to see that the Vancouver Film Critics Circle awared the film with Best Int'l Documentary in February 2026.

I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would. If the research presented in the documentary was correct, it's a sad story for all participants.
The film was well structured, the many subjects were eloquent and their message came across clearly. I love a good narration and the key facts to be repeated in a documentary, to ensure I understand the context fully.
There seem to be more documentaries about war photographers out there these days, but this one focused more on the veracity of photo credits rather than the fact this photo was shot during the Vietnam war.
It's great to see this film on Netflix.

🥱. What a déjà-vu!

Entertaining film, great play on Brad Pitt’s advanced age. Relatively boring plot, foreseeable love story but the races were thrilling. F1 is not a sport I would enjoy IRL. Too dangerous, loud and wasteful. 🏎️

Walked by the big red corner house on Vancouver’s Semlin Drive recently and I told my daughter about the Bennett family who used to live there, as well as filmmaker Teresa Alfeld next door. We then decided to watch the film again. It’s a 10-star rock documentary. What a life, what an amazing piece of Vancouver history. And the music still holds up strongly. 👏🏻

Because Jacinda Ardern is a public figure and because of the big publicity campaign for the film, many events during her 5-year term as New Zealand’s prime minister were already known to me by the time I watched the film.
Therefore, the storyline isn’t always compelling. What is amazing is the fact that the filmmakers had close access to this woman even before she became prime minister. And many of her domestic scenes were shot by her partner.
Jacinda Ardern must be very happy with this portrait, in which she comes across as a caring, kind, hardworking and strong leader.
It is a recommendation to people interested in politics, to get an intimate look into another way of governance.

I lived in Europe in the 1990s, so in those days, I had never heard of Sarah McLachlan or Lilith Fair (or of many of the artists mentioned in the film). After moving to Canada, I did become aware of the artists, particularly Sarah McLachlan, whose music I enjoy a lot.
But I had never heard of the Lilith Fair tours. What an exciting initiative.
The film is very convincing for the first hour or so. At some point towards the final 30 minutes, I feel it becomes repetitive.
However, it’s great to see CBC Docs involved in the film, telling an inspiring story about a remarkable Canadian musician.
It was good to see that this fine film was allowed to do festivals (not sure if it did a theatrical release?) before the broadcast.

Sweet animated short that I can relate to, having been on journeys between Poland and Belgium in the 1990s, haha.
The narration is lovely. I wonder if they'll make an English dubbed narration for Academy members because the film has a lot of dialogue, which requires subtitle reading (and those focusing less on the animation).
Great to see this Belgian film shortlisted for the 2026 Oscars. Bonne chance!

I almost fell asleep during the first two chapters of this ensemble film. 🥱 But when I resumed the next day with the third chapter, I suddenly understood the structure and it became fun to piece the puzzle together.
I was surprised about the gore but all in all, it’s a good horror movie.

It was a wise decision to watch this animated documentary in a movie theatre because I’m sure I would have abandoned the film if I had streamed it.
I appreciate how difficult themes about Canadian and Indigenous history and reality are told with a great deal of comic relief.
The idea for the film is brilliant, the characters are funny and the directors have a good sense of humour and timing.
I know film reviewers love this documentary but I wasn’t a fan of the crude animation and countless fart-and-turd jokes. There is an audience for that but it’s not me.
Because the audience at the VIFF centre was large and lively, it was an entertaining evening after all.
Also had to chuckle about the NFB-related jokes. I guess we’re all squares? 😆 📐

Interesting subject matter, conventional format. The documentary becomes more interesting in the second half, when Seymour Hersh becomes uncomfortable talking about his sources. And we also learn he’s made a few big mistakes in his career by relying on single sources only. That’s quite thrilling. Otherwise, it didn’t strike me as particularly remarkable. People write about the importance of the film showcasing that the USA have always tried to cover up some scandals but isn’t that par for the course in each country?

Rewatched after twenty years or so, I recognize now that this is a masterpiece. What a beautiful film. Brilliant story, great acting, directing, production design.

My Disney Plus subscription is running out at the end of this month, and because of that, I'm catching up with a few classic sci fi films on my watchlist. LIke Solaris, recently, and Sunshine yesterday,
I was positively surprised by this film!
The plot is a bit bollocks but still plausible. The set design is great, and the cast is amazing, including a young Cillian Murphy and Rose Byrne.
The VFXs hold up well.
There are a few clichés in the plot and characters but all in all, it's very entertaining.

Excellent story (based on a true story), well executed. As a swimmer myself, I enjoyed water and swimming as the thread throughout the narrative.
I'm not a huge fan of the animation style but that's just me. I did get emotional watching the scenes taking place in the 1930s and 1940s.