Documentary Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Documentary

Two women relaxing on large pink inflatable rings in a swimming pool.
Review

Shabu

by Marina Ashioti

A teenag­er from Rot­ter­dam attempts to make amends for totalling his grandmother’s car in Shami­ra Raphaëla’s fun, uplift­ing documentary.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Young man in white Nike T-shirt smiling in a field.
Review

Name Me Lawand

by David Jenkins

A deaf Kur­dish boy belat­ed­ly dis­cov­ers the sim­ple joys of com­mu­ni­ca­tion in Edward Lovelace’s mov­ing and polit­i­cal­ly pre­scient doc­u­men­tary portrait.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Young woman with dark hair wearing striped top, sitting at a desk.
Review

The Super 8 Years

by Mark Asch

Annie Ernaux and her son David piece togeth­er a mag­i­cal home movie essay on mar­riage, moth­er­hood and the whole damn thing.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Elderly man with curly grey hair in a bookshop, surrounded by shelves and hanging lamps.
Review

Hello, Bookstore

by Robyn Quick

An inde­pen­dent book­shop finds itself under threat from clo­sure in this heart­felt doc.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Silhouetted figure on stage amid colourful, fiery stage lights and crowd.
Review

My Imaginary Country

by Marina Ashioti

A new vital work by Patri­cio Guzmán sees the doc­u­men­tary vet­er­an turn his gaze towards a new gen­er­a­tion of Chilean revolutionaries.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Man in a tuxedo with a boutonnière, gazing seriously at the camera.
Review

Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

by Marina Ashioti

Barn­a­by Thomp­son cel­e­brates the mul­ti­fac­eted life and work of leg­endary play­wright Noël Cow­ard with a per­func­to­ry pro­file doc.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Blurred image of an unidentified person's face, with warm, reddish-orange tones.
Review

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

by David Jenkins

This human­ist por­trait of care, surgery and tech­nol­o­gy is Ver­e­na Par­avel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s most overt­ly social­ly con­scious work.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Close-up of a human face in purple and blue tones, with the eyes filling the frame.
Review

Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power

by Lillian Crawford

Nina Menkes’ broad-strokes, reac­tionary inves­ti­ga­tion of the male gaze is more inter­est­ed in cher­ry-pick­ing than it is insight­ful critique.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two men in white shirts standing in a room, engaging in conversation.
Review

Little Richard: I Am Everything

by David Jenkins

The ​“Quasar of Rock” is the sub­ject of this juicy and insight­ful doc­u­men­tary which prizes deep cul­tur­al analy­sis over the usu­al bob­bysox­er hysteria.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Monochrome image of a serious-looking woman seated at a desk, with bookshelves visible in the background.
Review

Loving Highsmith

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Eva Viti­ja’s thought­ful doc­u­men­tary is a mea­sured look at a sin­gu­lar, enig­mat­ic lit­er­ary voice.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect