Documentary Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Documentary

Group of people, mostly men, standing outside a building with shuttered windows. Vintage image in sepia tones.
Review

Three Minutes: A Lengthening

by Marina Ashioti

A home movie becomes an impor­tant his­tor­i­cal arte­fact, reveal­ing the dev­as­ta­tion of the Holo­caust for the Jew­ish res­i­dents of a small Pol­ish town.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Close-up of a person's face looking up, framed by broken glass.
Review

Lynch/Oz

by Marina Ashioti

Alexan­dre O Philippe traces the con­nec­tion between David Lynch and Vic­tor Flem­ing’s The Wiz­ard of Oz.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A group of people boarding an aeroplane, with the plane's exterior visible in the background.
Review

Last Flight Home

by Saskia Lloyd Gaiger

Ondi Tim­o­n­er films the final days of her father’s life in an infor­ma­tive, detailed and unpol­ished account of assist­ed death.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A stone building with a clock tower on a hilltop, silhouetted against a sunset sky. A person on a white horse in the foreground, with chickens nearby.
Review

A Bunch of Amateurs

by Marina Ashioti

A charm­ing doc­u­men­tary about Britain’s old­est ama­teur film­mak­ing club puts a quin­tes­sen­tial­ly North­ern sto­ry in the spotlight.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A Mars rover on a rocky, dusty landscape against an orange sky.
Review

Good Night Oppy

by David Jenkins

Under­whelm­ing and detail-light account of the plucky Mars rover that out­lived NASA’s wildest predictions.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Matchbox with "Los Andes" logo and "Compania Chilena de Fosforos" text, depicting snowy mountain peaks.
Review

The Cordillera of Dreams

by Marina Ashioti

Mas­ter film­mak­er Patri­cio Guzmán turns his gaze to the enig­mat­ic Andean moun­tain range as he exam­ines the trou­bled his­to­ries of Chile.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Silhouettes of an adult and child against an orange and red sunset sky, with grass in the foreground.
Review

Midwives

by Jamison Kent

Hnin Ei Hlaing’s eye-open­ing doc­u­men­tary depicts the ram­pant and ongo­ing cri­sis in Myan­mar through the eyes of two caregivers.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two hikers in blue and red winter attire, surrounded by misty, smoke-like clouds.
Review

Fire of Love

by David Jenkins

Sara Dosa’s whim­si­cal doc­u­men­tary chron­i­cles the trag­ic tale of ded­i­cat­ed vol­cano chasers Katia and Mau­rice Krafft.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two men standing by the sea, wearing coats, looking out over the water.
Review

Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time

by Molly Mortimer

The beloved author and come­di­an receives the time-hon­oured doc­u­men­tary pro­file treat­ment by pal Robert B Weide.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Bustling city street with palm trees and high-rise buildings. A woman in a patterned dress standing in the middle of the road.
Review

Donna

by Marina Ashioti

Jay Bed­wani presents a cap­ti­vat­ing por­trait of drag icon Don­na Per­son­na as she writes a play to com­mem­o­rate the brav­ery of her trans sisters.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect