(Sadie was less than interested.)
In just over an hour, I fell in love with Luna, a sweet whale who was separated from his family and sought out human contact in Nootka Sound, Canada. The footage of Luna was truly incredible. The film touched on his odd behavior, anthropomorphism (the attribution of human characteristics to animals – they called him “lonely” and discussed his desire for “friendship”), the dangers of interacting with whales and Luna’s unshakable desire for human attention. It was an incredible film, but grab a tissue if you decide to watch it!
And just in case you share our love for documentaries, here’s a list of 25 documentary recommendations that you can currently stream on Netflix from Paste Magazine:
25. The Square
24. Cutie and the Boxer
23. Undefeated
22. Shut Up and Play the Hits
21. Connected: An Autobiography About Love, Death & Technology
20. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
19. Sins of My Father
18. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
17. 20 Feet From Stardom
16. 7 Up Series
15. Stories We Tell
14. Leviathan
13. Exit Through the Gift Shop
12. The Imposter
11. Room 237
10. This Is Not a Film
9. General Orders No. 9
8. Into the Abyss
7. Senna
6. Let the Fire Burn
5. Muscle Shoals
4. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
3. Man on Wire
2. The Thin Blue Line
1. Hoop Dreams
Workout + Breakfast
This morning began with a 6 a.m. Pure Barre class followed by breakfast!
On the menu for today was a bowl of my hot egg white oatmeal paired with a cup of mocha mint coffee and a sweet clementine.
And now it’s off to work.
Have a fantastic Wednesday!
Question of the Morning
- Do you enjoy documentaries?
- Please recommend any of your favorite “must watch” documentaries!
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I really enjoy documentary movies. I watched Hungry for Change recently,and I think Kris Carr (Crazy Sexy Cancer) is an inspiration. It is interesting to be exposed to information we wouldn’t be normally. Have a great Wednesday!
Not a documentary but you MUST check out the podcast caLled Serial on iTunes. It’s amazing.
Yes, you must listen!! SO GOOD!
Serial is definitely worth listening to! Also I love the documentary Ethel about Ethel Kennedy. I learned so much by watching it!
Agreed! Thursday has become my favorite day of the week!
I love documentaries! Two that I found really interesting were: fat sick and nearly dead (it will make you praise your juicer) and blackfish(based on the whales at sea world)(don’t forget the tissues) 🙂
we’ve watched both! great recommendations.
Oh my gosh I have spent the past 24 hours looking for a documentary to download for an upcoming plane ride! How did you know?? 🙂 Definitely going to go through the list and pick one of these! Thanks!
haha yay!! wishing you safe travels, erika!
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is an amazing documentary especially if you love food. I also recommend, King of Pastry. I never thought I would be so emotional over a cake.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is awesome! Good recommendation!
i’ve heard the best things about jiro dreams of sushi and we started watching it on sunday night but couldn’t get into it! we’ll have to try again!
Always love reading your posts, Julie! I want to fill you in on one more documentary that’s really worth watching that my family and I watched over Thanksgiving break. It’s called “Burt’s Buzz” and it follows Burt, the face behind all the great Burt’s Bees products. It takes a few minutes to get in to, but it’s a really great documentary and very interesting to see the backstory! You and Ryan will have to check it out 🙂
YES! I loved this one as well!
Burt’s Buzz is awesome!!!
I second this one! Takes a second to get into, but his love for his dogs made me cry for real! Such an interesting lifestyle no one can really understand unless they live it, so it’s incredible to see. Burt is an awesome guy.
My absolute favorite documentary on Netflix is Girl Rising, about different issues girls face around the world. It follows different girls in developing countries telling the true story of how they were brave in the face of their cultures ideas of women. It is so so so inspiring and beautiful.
The only one I ever watched was the one about McDonalds and how they make the meat. I don’t remember the name but I was thankful I don’t eat red meat or fast food after seeing it. Fast Food Nation I think the name was.
Last week my boyfriend watched a Netflix documentary that he’s been talking about ever since about Burt from Burt’s Bees. He keeps telling me I have to watch it – apparently it’s a very interesting story behind the brand. I think it’s called Burt’s Buzz, or something along those lines! I also LOVE Blackfish – but I’m sure you’ve seen it already. It totally changed the way I view SeaWorld (sadly). 🙁
A documentary titled “The Staircase.” I haven’t watched it, but it has come highly recommended and it on my must watch list.
I am really into JFK stuff so I recently watched Parkland- sooo good and Zac Efron isnt bad to look at! I’ll definitely have to check some of the ones you listed out!
They are so easy to get sucked into and very addicting! Btw, Sadie is the sweetest 🙂
The Imposter is creepy, but a great watch. I also loved Hungry for Change.
I love documentaries! One of my recent favorites was Craigslist Joe and I highly recommend watching if you haven’t seen it. It highlights the innate goodness of people and the power of community even in our digitally run world.
LOVE Netflix documentaries! Forks over knives and Spirit of the Marathon were some of my favorites I watched on Netflix, but I don’t know if they are on there anymore, which is a bummer.
Unfortunately, there are different documentaries available in Switzerland on Netflix versus the US. #fail
We love documentaries on Netflix! Any of the 30 for 30’s are amazing. It’s a little dark but Blackfin about the killer whales at Sea World was really eye opening. I also highly recommend Dear Zachary. Don’t do any research just watch.
You should also watch Black Fish about keeping killer whales in captivity and if you’re into history and WWII watch Hitler’s Children (that one for sure needs some tissues!).
I do like documentaries, but I havent watched them recently. I should probably get back on that. Right now I am starting the second season of the walking dead and dont know if i will keep watching bc I really don’t care about any of the characters haha. I think a documentary would be a little more life enriching 🙂
I LOVE them!!! Black Fish was my favorite- amazing!
I saw a whale in the wild during a hike on Canada’s west coast. It was so cool- I will never forget it!
Also i want your coffee. I have been craving peppermint lately. Must be the season!
“Crash Reel”! It’s on HBO and it’s amazing…definitely a tearjerker. “Paradise Lost” about the West Memphis Three is fascinating but very disturbing. My boyfriend and I love documentaries as well, so I appreciate this list!
I so love documentaries.
One of my favorite was about the white house photographer… so interesting. & now, whenever the president is on TV, you can see him in the crowd 🙂
Stories We Tell is such an amazing documentary. we loved it!
Also – Dear Zachary is a great documentary but it is extremely sad. If you haven’t watched Bridegroom, Shane Bitney Crone is such an inspiration to me. I met him a few months back and he’s an amazing person!
Do you have a good one on the dairy industry and organic cattle?
Ok, this is probably a really stupid question but why do you put a strike through some things?
I love documentaries! I never know how or where to find them on Netflix, so I will be keeping this list handy next time I’m looking for one!
Thanks for the ideas!
FYI — the ads today are making your mobile site nearly unusable. There’s a Macy’s ad taking up the whole bottom half of the screen. it was hard to close, too… Kept taking me to Macy’s instead of closing.
what!? looking into this right now! so sorry!!!!
Holy cow!! I am so happy you saw that documentary!! I actually lived in Gold River, BC (the town in Nootka Sound) when Luna was there and I personally fell in love. Going down to the docks on the weekend was so special and I can’t even describe the feeling of seeing Luna and looking into her gorgeous big eyes. Don’t tell anyone, but I actually touched Luna’s tongue and rubbed her back when she was swimming along the dock one day, and even though a few weeks later laws were enforced and someone was arrested for doing that, I honestly don’t regret it at all. Seeing her so lonely and just wanting to play and be around people was amazing and I am so thankful I was involved in her life. I think when people see the documentary and hear the First Nation Peoples talk about the spiritual side of the story, it sounds kind of crazy, but it really gives me goosebumps to think about it because you had to be there to “feel it.” Luna was such a special whale and definitely still holds a place in my heart. There is nothing like living on Vancouver Island 🙂
I can’t believe you met him!!! What a special whale. <3
I think that’s the one queue on Netflix that I haven’t explored enough. Thanks for the list.
Blue Planet is amazing – it’s technically a mini-series, but really awesome!
Not sure if anyone mentioned this one yet, but The Act of Killing (on Netflix) is a powerful documentary I watched recently. It’s intense, but definitely worth watching.
What a great list of documentaries to check out! You’ll have to head over to Durham in April for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival! It’s awesome and there are even some great free screenings!
My husband and I have been on a documentary binge on Netflix. We love them!
Watched the Stephen Hawking Netflix documentary last night and thought it was really interesting!! He narrates the story and touches on all aspects of his career, disability, and home life. I would recommend!
I have’t watched many documentaries, but I do LOVE TED Talks. They are always so enlightening.. I particularly have enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell’s and Steve Jobs (which was actually his Stanford commencement speech from a few years ago).
Looove me some documentaries! You should check out “Tiny” on Netflix…all about the “tiny home” movement and it follows a guy who decides to build his own tiny home. They’re about 100 sq. ft. but SO COOL!
I love Netflix documentaries – Jiro Dreams of Sushi is awesome, as is Somm. I also really thought that Sushi: the global catch is a must-watch. I also just watched Fed Up, which isn’t streaming yet but is a definite must-see.
We watched King of Kong a while back and I loved it. It’s about one man’s quest to beat a Donkey Kong record. also an oldie-but Supersize Me is fantastic.
King of Kong is awesome!!!!
You should also check out BlackFish if you haven’t. It’s heartbreaking but truely eyeopening regarding the whales and sea world. It’s one of my favorite documentaries!
I saw that and it really is so, so heartbreaking.
Food, Inc and Vegucated are also great documentaries!
If you enjoyed Super Size Me you might also like Inside Man and 30 Days, which are series by the same creator where he put himself in different situations such as, living on minimum wage for an entire month. Worth a watch!
My husband and I love Netflix. It’s so convenient for an impromptu movie night. =] I always look forward to reading your posts, they’re always filled with so many wonderful recommendations and tips! That’s also why I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award. I’m not sure if you’ve already done it, but all you have to do is share 7 facts about yourself and nominate 7 other bloggers. I have a more detailed post on my blog! I look forward to your next post!
Documentaries are SO great! I can get lost in them! I have recently been hooked on podcasts. I listen to them while doing morning workouts, and it makes the workout FLY by!
Are they free to stream through Paste Magazine or do you have to have a Netflix subscription? I really liked the documentary “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.” It was about a weight loss journey through juicing. Very interesting. A second version just came out!
Muscle Shoals is an incredible documentary! It covers a wide array of musicians, from Arethra Franklin to The Allman Brothers. Definitely a must see!
The Muscle Shoals documentary is SO good! My husband is from there so it made it even more fun to watch!
That picture of Sadie sleeping! Too cute!
I’m starting to really enjoy documentaries — Fed Up was great, and I recently watched Burt’s Buzz, the documentary about Burt Shavitz, the face behind Burt’s Bees!
We couldn’t get into the sushi documentary, either! Kinda boring! I’d recommend Tiny (a story about living small) and First Position.
I don’t know if it is available for streaming anywhere, (I bought the DVD off Amazon a few years ago), but my favorite documentary is called A Map for Saturday. It is about this guy who quits his job at HBO to spend a year backpacking around the world.