Documentary Viewing and references

In our documentary unit classes we have had screenings of notable and influential documentaries; from Robert J. Flaherty's "Nanook Of The North" (a pioneering docudrama from the early 20th century) to the polar opposite, quite literally, in Werner Herzog's  stunning, cinematic investigation of the people of Antarctica's Camp McMurdo "Encounters At The End Of The World".

My initial perception of documentary filmmaking, going into this module, was that it dealt purely with the factual. The thing that struck me about "Nanook..." was how Flaherty, in the 1920s had already begun to manipulate and influence the subjects in his film to give it a narrative. It then became clear that almost all documentary subjects, particularly human subjects, must be manipulated and influenced by the filmmaker. A documentary maker is no less a storyteller than a filmmaker who deals in fiction.

Since watching "Encounters..." I have watched a few other Herzog documentaries (Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Grizzly Man) and it seems to me that his greatest gift as a storyteller is his unique perspective. The pattern in the residents of McMurdo of having always been outsiders, loners or separatists of one kind or another is one that few others would have spotted, and the comparison between these people and the rogue penguin was quite moving.

Another stand-out documentary to me was Sarah Polley's "Stories We Tell". This film covers the challenging story of her upbringing, her parents' problems within their marriage, her search for her biological father and her mother's death. Although the subject of Polley's film is predominantly herself, the story is told in such a way that we are invited to share the experiences of all of the family that surrounded her parents throughout their marriage and during her search for her father. The use of very convincing re-enactments and recreations also brings the viewer much closer to the story.

The documentaries we have viewed in class have been very informative and useful to help me gain a better understanding of the role of a documentary filmmaker.