Jon Batiste The American Symphony is here. The sublime moments in American Symphony, a compelling but scattershot documentary following recording artist Jon Batiste through a tumultuous year, tend to come when its subject is chained to a piano. Jon Batiste, a musician who blends jazz, classical, R&B, and funk, is best known for his work as the leader of Stay Human, the house band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and for winning Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammys. This award complements his Oscar for co-composing Pixar’s Soul with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Documentaries bring us all together. Even when the film’s general emphasis is reduced to match a preconceived storyline, there’s an obvious sense of intimacy, as if you’ve been granted access to a filmmaker’s mind for a brief moment. Great films use images of universal, familiar reality to communicate something profoundly personal by presenting fragments of the real world in a variety of styles. Netflix provides a plethora of fantastic documentaries covering a wide range of topics, from true crime to sports to filmmaking. We’ve compiled a selection of what we believe are the top documentaries available on Netflix right now. Here are the top 5 heartwarming documentaries.
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WHAM!
WHAM! is a nostalgic deep dive that will jitterbug all of the pop duo’s best singles into your brain while holding your heart with their historic climb to prominence. The documentary delves into the childhood lives of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, childhood pals who would alter the music world of the 1980s before performing their final show at Wembley Stadium. The band was short-lived, yet its legacy lives on, from their iconic look and distinct sound to George Michael’s subsequent emergence, which reframed his entire career. Take a trip down memory lane using never-before-seen archival film and interviews.
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now
Lewis Capaldi immediately established himself as a superb singer and composer, but in the documentary Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now, the award-winning rock sensation opens up about his personal life and experiences in a highly intimate setting. Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now, directed by Joe Pearlman, gives audiences an inside look at the performer. The documentary delves into both the musical and personal aspects of the man’s life, highlighting real and authentic moments as it follows the journey of an ambitious and scrappy kid whose viral performance catapulted him to popularity.
Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl
Shania Twain‘s influence on music is unquestionable, as she is one of the most prominent country singers of all time. While you’re probably familiar with at least a few of Twain’s songs—That Don’t Impress Me Much, From This Moment On, and Man! I feel like a woman! are just a few of her many hits; you may not realize how many barriers she endured on her way to stardom. Things haven’t always been easy for her, from the discrimination she encountered as a female in the field to her parents’ terrible deaths, an unpleasant divorce, and a brush with Lyme illness. Twain, on the other hand, has never given up, making the documentary a captivating and uplifting story that simultaneously reflects on her difficult, trailblazing history and looks forward to her bright future.
Gaga: Five Foot Two
If you’re looking for a celebrity documentary that goes a little deeper than the surface, Gaga: Five Foot Two is a good choice. The film, which was released in 2017, revolves around Lady Gaga‘s life throughout the writing and release of her album Joanne, as well as her casting in A Star Is Born for director/star Bradley Cooper and the breakup of her engagement with Taylor Kinney. This film is fairly intimate because Gaga also suffers from fibromyalgia, and you get a glimpse into her life as she juggles so many things at once, culminating with her Super Bowl halftime performance.
Miss Americana
Miss Americana, Taylor Swift’s Netflix documentary, is not your usual music documentary. It’s not even so much about Swift’s music as it is about Swift as a person. It’s a film about Swift’s long path to learning how to care less about what other people think of her and how that appears in her feminist awakening and decision to publicly share her political opinion—both of which we see unfold in real time. Some will criticize the film for being overly polished, and it’s tough to know how much influence Swift had in shaping the documentary’s self-image. However, the film’s genuine moments of insight are difficult to overlook, and it’s interesting to watch Swift come to grips with who she is as a human being while also being one of the world’s most renowned individuals.
