Kens List of Mind-Stimulating Movies
Author: Ken Homer Issue: 2022-07-20
Ken’s List of Mind-Stimulating Movies
by Ken Homer
A modest list of documentaries and feature films, some serious, some light-hearted, all worth viewing.
13th – Documentary about the 13th Amendment and the troublesome uses to which it has been put.
32 Short Films About Glenn Gould – any fan of the Canadian piano prodigy will appreciate this film. If you are not familiar with him but love Bach, you will enjoy this film. Gould was unusual to say the least! Pay per view on youtube.
Baraka and **Samsara **(two separate films) – Ron Fricke was the cinematographer on Koyaanisqatsi. In these two films he takes his 70mm camera and films scenes of people and nature from all around the world. Both are wordless meditations on life and carry potent and evocative imagery.
Been Rich All My Life – Documentary about the dancers at Harlem’s Cotton Club in its heyday. Known as The Silver Belles, the women range in age from 84 to 96. Amazon
Biggest Little Farm – An unexpectedly uplifting film that tells a story of regenerative agriculture in SoCal. Buy or rent on Youtube.
Brooklyn Castle – How a chess club in a Brooklyn junior high school is changing lives for the better. Available from PBS and Amazon
Cherry Blossoms – Touching film of a husband’s love for his wife – if you can get the DVD it has a short colorized film from the 1930s of cherry blossom time in Japan that’s simply stunning!
Constantine’s Sword – What happens when military power is aligned with religious fervor? An exploration into the dark side of Christianity. Amazon
The Corporation – Documentary that examines the behavior of corporations through the lens of the DSM’s criteria for sociopaths.
Crip Camp – Documentary about a summer camp in the Catskills for disabled kids in the ‘70s many of whom went on to become disability activists. Super touching and very humanizing, tells an important story few able-bodied people know about. Netflix streaming.
Death by Design: The Life and Times of Life and Times – Documentary on cell biology, quite fascinating! Internet Archive.
The Edge of Democracy – A look inside Brazil’s tumultuous political scene, the corruption and the rise of Bolsonaro. Netflix disc. Related: The Mechanism – Netflix series dramatizing Operation Car Wash which brought down several major players in the Brazilian government.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room – A look at one of the most unethical businesses in history and the impact they had on multiple levels.
Fantastic Fungi – Amazing film that shows how fungi knit together an intelligent network to help forests thrive – the wood wide web in action! Streaming on Netflix.
Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control – Errol Morris (a fave of mine) profiles four striking individuals: a topiary gardener in Newport RI, an MIT roboticist, a wild animal trainer for a failing circus, and the world’s foremost authority on naked mole rats. Quirky and fun. Rent on Amazon.
The Fog of War – Errol Morris interviews Robert McNamara about the Vietnam War. Amazon.
Good Hair – Chris Rock takes you on a tour of the world of Black hair. A fascinating glimpse into a subculture most of us have no idea exists. Rent on Amazon.
Helvetica – A look at another subculture, the world of people who are passionate about typefaces.
Herb and Dorothy – The story of a postman and a librarian in NYC who, on their modest salaries, amassed an enormous art collection worth millions!
The Hobart Shakespeareans – One teacher in LA uses Shakespeare to transform the lives of inner city children. Netflix disc.
Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train – a look at scholar and historian Zinn’s life and career. Rent on Amazon.
I Am Not Your Negro – Powerful documentary on James Baldwin. Internet Archive
Inside Job – Prepare to be outraged as this film takes you inside the machinations that led to the 2008 bursting of the real estate bubble that created The Great Recession. Worth noting that very little has changed since, and we are vulnerable to another disaster like this most any day.
The Knowledge of Healing – A fascinating look at Tibetan medicine starting with a lama in the 19th C who developed medicines for ailments that would come into existence in the 20th C. Amazon.
Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of Balance) – a film that looks at the relationship between nature and humanity.
Kumaré: The True Story of a False Prophet – What happens when a young Indian man from Ridgewood NJ (my hometown!) visits India and returns with the idea of becoming a guru? Fascinating look at the dynamics of belief. Rent on Youtube.
Les Paul: Chasing Sound – Les Paul was the inventor of the electric guitar, overdubbing, and much more. This documentary details his amazing life and the impacts he had on popular culture. Available on disc from Netflix.
The Lives of Others – What happens when you are a low level Stasi who is assigned to spy on a playwright? One possibility is recognizing your betters when you see them. Amazon.
Long Night’s Journey Into Day – Follows the development of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and how things played out as people came forward to tell their stories. Rent on Vimeo.
Meet the Patels – Hysterically funny family-made documentary about Indian matchmaking. The filmmaker is the son of a matchmaker and he’s still single at age 30. Streaming on Amazon.
Microcosmos ** **– Spend an afternoon in a meadow in insect-scale. It took the filmmakers seven years to develop the cameras and shoot this amazing documentary of life in the insect world. Fractal fans will notice how many biological processes our insect ancestors invented that show up in numerous species. And the dung beetle is smarter than you think!
Mindwalk – Based on Fritjof Capra’s book, The Turning Point, this film follows a meandering conversation among Liv Ullman, Sam Waterston, and John Heard as they wander around Mont Saint Michel. A movie about systems thinking, political issues, and quantum theory. Youtube
Persepolis – Combination of animation and live action, this thought-provoking film from Marjane Satrapi looks at the impact of the Iranian Revolution on her family and her life. Rent on Amazon.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song – A look at an American musical icon. Netflix disc.
Powers of Ten – This short film ( ±9 minutes) produced by Charles and Ray Eames for IBM, deals with the relative size of things in the Universe. Youtube
Racing Extinction – A sobering look at climate change and other human created disasters.
South (1919) – fascinating documentary on the Shackleton expedition to the South Pole. Thanks to the silver nitrate film, the footage is stunning, simply gorgeous to watch and the story is inspiring. Available on disc from Netflix.
Tim’s Vermeer – A tech millionaire decides to see if he can recreate one of Vermeer’s best known paintings. Amazon
Touch the Sound – Evelyn Glennie is the world’s only full time solo percussionist. She also happens to be deaf. Netflix disc.
Wait for Your Laugh – Rose Marie, of Dick van Dyke fame, led an amazing life. She was a child start who was under the protection of Al Capone! And there are many more fascinating things about this woman. Amazon.
**Why We Fight **(not the Frank Capra version) – A look at 9/11, the Second Iraq War, and the selling of big lies to the American public.
Bonus: Three PBS TV shows
The Commanding Heights – A look at the competing theories of economics and how they shape our lives and our world.
The Elegant Universe – String theorist Brian Greene takes you on a tour of the Universe and things will never look the same to you again. Watch before bed and be prepared for astounding dreams!
Your Inner Fish – Traces the last 400 million years of evolution and how the flippers of the fish that crawled up onto land eventually became our arms and hands.
Related:
- Ken Homer (author)
- 2022 (year)
- Topics: Climate and Environment, Health and Wellbeing, Regenerative Systems and Agriculture