My Favorite Documentaries Of 2022: One Critic’s Best Of The Year List

The documentary has expanded of late from films and television specials to streaming services’ docuseries, and YouTube channels uploading feature-length infotainment. With so much content out there in the non-fiction world of media, it seems as if we should have an embarrassment of riches in exploring various different real-life subjects and historical events. Last year I certainly felt that way to the point that I was so conflicted in what to chose among the best in documentaries from the year that I didn’t even bother an attempt at ranking my top ten from 2021.

This year however I must admit I’ve been much more underwhelmed than not by documentaries of all types whether it be docuseries, feature-length films, or major YouTube channel uploads. Either I found myself bored, didn’t feel like I learned anything new, found the beats in how they told their story too predictable, or they managed to make me apathetic as a whole by the time the credits rolled. Even some of the most highly heralded docs from the year have left me wanting in some form or another. As far as I’m concerned it was not a strong year for the documentary.

But that’s not to say I didn’t have some that stood out for me during the year. Granted I can’t say I’m very passionate about more than four or five of them at least, but I did at some level enjoy a certain set more than the others.

Given I don’t write reviews for or even Letterboxd-log my documentary watches, not to mention that I don’t make documentaries eligible to make my end-of-year “best of” movie lists, I thought I’d highlight which ten docs were among my favorites from 2022. This includes all forms of the way to tell these non-fiction stories from miniseries on streaming platforms, to full blown documentary films, to a YouTube video – yes a YouTube video. In a year that left me not wild about its documentary offerings, these were but the few that nonetheless caught my attention as the better ones of the last twelve months.

#10. “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?” (Netflix Docuseries)

– About: When a young man attempts to win a fighter jet in a Pepsi sweepstakes, he sets the stage for a David-versus-Goliath court battle for the history books.

– Why It Was A Favorite: I vaguely remember being a child and watching Pepsi advertise a points-per-purchase marketing scheme, and in fact I actually still remember the very ad that kicked off this bizarre tale. But I never knew about this years-long case tied to the ad. At face value the series is all about the ups and downs of this guy’s ballsy attempt to force Pepsi to get him a Jet. There’s even an episode on Michael Avenatti of all people being involved in the jostling, which in turn leads to a story on other disastrous Pepsi marketing campaigns. But by the end you realize this is more about the story of a friendship between two guys who tried to take on a Goliath against all odds, had their friendship tested because of it, and stayed bonded by the time they got through to the other side of it. For the record, I think Pepsi should’ve paid up for the Jet.

#9. Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 (Netflix Docuseries)

– About: While the original 1969 Woodstock music festival promises peace, the 1999 revival delivers days of rage, riots, and real harm.

– Why It Was A Favorite: Last year HBO came out with an excellent documentary film on this subject and I think its a nice companion piece to this docuseries. Not only does this series delve into the behind the scenes mistakes and chaos that lead to this disaster, but it also has commentary to make about what an unruly mob can make people do, and the rage that was infecting the young men who caused this. The series also has a good rundown of some of the major acts’ concert moments and highlights the complete one-eighty in the music being listened at this Woodstock versus previous ones. Its a fascinating study at a microcosm of pop-culture in the late nineties, through the lens of one of the biggest music festival disasters of all time.

#8. I Love You, You Hate Me (Peacock Docuseries)

– About: An exploration of the spectacular rise of, and violent response to, children’s show character “Barney the Dinosaur”.

– Why It Was A Favorite: As a kid growing up in the nineties when the toddler show was at its peak, I remember the outright hatred that my classmates threw at Barney. But I had no clue that actual grown adults also partook in the backlash! This series isn’t just about studying what drove people to project all their anger towards a young child’s television character, but it also runs down the history of the show from its origins to even what happened to some of the kids featured on the program afterwards. By the end of it, even the most uneducated person on the Barney phenomenon will know all about the history of the show and its backlash.

#7. Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist (Netflix Two-Part Documentary Film)

– About: Follows the life and career of All-American Notre Dame football player Manti Te’o, exploring how a clandestine online relationship threatened both his career and legacy.

– Why It Was A Favorite: Netflix’s Untold series, or their own ESPN 30 For 30, delivered some interesting docs on the darker side of sports this year. But the one that stood out the most for me and many others was the examination of the Manti Te’o fake girlfriend controversy. Having a memory of this when it was happening in real-time, I was struck by the realization that I never followed-up on or thought about this story in the years since until I saw this flash up on the Netflix app. Watching the documentary you don’t just get insight into the events from the public’s perspective but from Manti as well – and the one behind the fake girlfriend account. The revelations in this that the public wasn’t aware about were astonishing to learn about, and has lead to a public that now sympathizes with his situation. It also asks important questions about homophobia, identity, and the news media that seemed to get off scot-free in their toxic participation in this mess.

#6. All That Breathes (HBO-Acquired Documentary Film)

– About: Two brothers ,along with their family in Delhi, devote their lives to the rescue and rehabilitation of Black Kites, magnificent raptors, that are literally “falling out of the sky”.

– Why It Was A Favorite: One of the biggest awards-contending documentaries of the year and a major film festival pleaser has been this wonderful doc that will make you have faith in mankind again. The cinematography is gorgeous to look at, and what starts out as a look into the rescue of these birds becomes a character study into the men involved. There’s even a little bit of a spiritual examination into the meaning of these birds for some people.

#5. Wildcat (Amazon Studios Documentary Film)

– About: Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a former soldier develops a bond with a baby Ocelot in the jungles of Peru.

– Why It Was A Favorite: This kind of hops on the back of the previously mentioned documentary on the subject of man and animal finding each other, but this time around its the animal doing the saving. This also serves as a bit of character study, but it will have you on the edge of your seat during a few dangerous moments. Its a crowd-pleasing story that will have you invested into the relationship between man and animal.

#4. All The Beauty And The Bloodshed (NEON Documentary Film)

– About: Rare footage and intimate interviews provide insight into the life and work of renowned photographer and activist Nan Goldin as she seeks to takedown the Sackler family.

– Why It Was A Favorite: This could have easily been a documentary just about the Sackler family’s ties to the opioid crisis, but somehow it also ends up an examination of Nan Goldin that is among the most raw I’ve ever seen of a biographical subject. The movie does not shy away from anything in Nan’s life, even at one point showing us slideshows of her artsy photographs she took of herself nude and in the middle of sex acts. But it also shows us her survival after a brutal beatdown from an ex boyfriend, and her efforts to bring awareness during the middle of the AIDS crisis and how that links up to her activism against the Sacklers. Its a movie that left me at times uncomfortable in its rawness but gripped me from start to finish in how it told two stories at once. And somehow this very raw and unflinching award-winning doc leaves on a note of hope – and a little bit of served justice.

#3. Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios Documentary Film)

– About: Charting the remarkable story of Opportunity, a NASA exploration rover that was sent to Mars for a ninety-day mission – but ended up surviving for another fifteen years.

– Why It Was A Favorite: If you’re looking for what almost feels like a real-life Wall-E, this crowd-pleasing awards-contending documentary is the one for you. Featuring narration from the one and only Angela Bassett and using CGI and visual effects to tell its story, I’ve hard of folks being so touched by this documentary they’ve actually shed tears over it. We get a glimpse of science actually merging with some heart and emotion for once. It’ll transport you to Mars, and make you root for the little rover to keep going.

#2. Moonage Daydream (NEON Documentary Film)

– About: Featuring never-before-seen footage and performances, filmmaker Brett Morgen explores David Bowie’s creative, spiritual, and musical journey.

– Why It Was A Favorite: What I expected from this critically-praised film was a look into the life of the one and only David Bowie. What I got was a mystical, hypnotic, ASMR-like at times, experience that left me feeling as if I was almost in a relaxing trance for two hours. The masterful editing of clips, Bowie’s commentary, and music videos is accompanied by one of the best soundtracks in cinema for the year. Half biographical documentary and half concert doc, its not going to tell you all the details about the incomparable singer’s time on this Earth, but it will take you on a ride you won’t soon forget.

#1. The Disney Channel Theme: A History Mystery (Defunctland YouTube Channel Documentary Upload)

– About: Investigates the origin of the four-note theme that has been used on the Disney Channel for the past two decades.

– Why It Was A Favorite: While a couple docs stood out this year to me, not one touched what I would deem an ultra passionate love from me. Save for one – and its a YouTube channel upload. The nostalgia-exploring Defunctland channel uploaded a feature-length documentary about the search for who was behind the Disney Channel theme. At first it begins as a bit of a tongue in cheek, comedic tale, and travel back to a time where I and others were growing up watching the channel. It explores the history of the channel’s brand marketing and the many layers our host has to peel back to find the originator of the theme. But by the end it turns into a sobering look at the fact creatives may not be in control of the legacy they will leave behind, and whether they’re at peace with that. There’s even a point where the feature gets meta and calls out the fact some won’t call this a documentary when it very much plays as one. By the end of this I found myself contemplating its themes. Strangely enough it was a YouTube channel upload of all things that gave me the one documentary of the year that I felt actually deserved a perfect score.

– Honorable Mentions: Beba, Descendant, Fire Of Love, Jimmy Saville: A British Horror Story, Lucy And Desi, Nalvany, The Last Dolphin King, Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul, White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, Worst Roommate Ever