Over the past few months I’ve really warmed up to Hulu, and though it’s getting to that part of the month where the platform is removing more titles, it’s never usually a huge list, which is why we rate it as one of the best streaming services.
With that said, it’s documentaries that will endure Hulu’s next monthly clear-out, so if you like to get stuck into a good documentary feature after a long day at work I have five with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes for you to get through in the coming weeks. Sadly, there aren’t any true crime documentaries this time, but instead there are two hard-hitting political documentaries, an expose of one of the greatest American writers, and more.
Documentaries make up some of the best Hulu movies, and are a great way of learning more about the things you find the most interesting, and if you have a thirst for knowledge like myself these documentaries might just be the ticket to answering your questions about the world around you.
President (2021)
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RT score: 91%
Length: 120 minutes
Director: Camilla Neilssen
Leaving on: May 19
Inspired by the work and life of Zimbabwean politician Robert Mugabe, Camilla Nielsson’s documentary is a close-up analysis and insight of a nation’s fight for democracy.
Examining the 2018 presidential election in Zimbabwe, Mugabe’s term has come to an end and the stakes are too high to allow the ruling party to continue its control over the country. Working to prevent this is the young politician Nelson Chamisa, whose determined to ensure that the country is led by its government, and not ruled. This documentary exposes a nation’s drive to securing democracy while it struggles with political violence and extreme food shortages.
Not Going Quietly (2021)
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RT score: 100%
Length: 96 minutes
Director: Nicholas Bruckman
Leaving on: May 12
This moving documentary explores another political movement that was sparked from a personal health diagnosis that ended up launching them into national fame.
Successful lawyer and new father Ady Barkan had his life turned upside-down after he was diagnosed with ALS. Following an interaction with Senator Jeff Flake on an airplane that blew up on social media, Barkan started the ‘Be a Hero’ healthcare campaign with his fellow activists, a political movement that would grab the attention of the White House.
Encouraging voters to directly address local elected officials for healthcare justice, Bruckman’s documentary film features interviews with Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and President at-the-time Joe Biden all held by Barkan himself, giving hope to the millions of other people in the same position as him.
The Capote Tapes (2021)
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RT score: 93%
Length: 98 minutes
Director: Ebs Burnough
Leaving on: May 13
Truman Capote was indeed a unique individual, and his character has bee interpreted time after time most notably in the 2005 biopic Capote starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, and more recently in the anthology series Feud – see where it falls in my ranking of Ryan Murphy shows.
Similar to Feud, Ebs Burnough’s documentary also looks at the downfall of this great American writer which started with his unpublished book Answered Prayers which was geared to be his magnum opus. Instead, it resulted in a series of messy drama between Capote and the women of high society New York City with whom he got close with.
Through a series of once unheard tapes including interview with close friends and even enemies, Burnough’s documentary uses them as a lens into the reality of Truman Capote’s downward spiral.
All the Streets Are Silent: The Convergence of Hip Hop and Skateboarding (2021)
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RT score: 90%
Length: 89 minutes
Director: Jeremy Elkin
Leaving on: May 14
All the Streets Are Silent is a documentary fused with all things fashion, street culture, music, race, and New York City, honing in on a subculture battle that evolved into an important cultural movement.
Set in downtown Manhattan in the late ’80s and early ’90s, hip-hop and skateboarding tribes were neck-in-neck., but despite this growing conflict between two opposing sides this convergence resulted in the birth of a new style that would influence the evolution of popular music, fashion, and street culture.
The Last Tourist (2021)
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RT score: 100%
Length: 84 minutes
Director: Tyson Sadler
Leaving on: May 31
There’s no doubt that traveling and tourism has spiked in recent years, but this documentary will make you want to rethink that upcoming trip you’ve been looking forward to.
The Last Tourist is an eye-opener to the world of over-tourism and its repercussions looking at its impact on the environment and vulnerable cultural populations. On the one hand it looks at how tourism is on an increasingly damaging trajectory, but on the other hand it highlights how tourism can offer opportunity and cultural exposure. Zoologist Jane Goodall and animal rights advocator Lek Chailert offer their contributions to Sadler’s documentary film.
