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“Nothing Compares” (not rated, 1 hour, 37 minutes, Showtime) Directed by Kathryn Ferguson, this authoritative documentary follows the rise to fame of Ireland’s trailblazing Sinead O’Connor and explores how she climbed to the height of her stardom before her controversial behavior (particularly toward the Catholic church) led to her dismissal from mainstream pop music.
“Flight/Risk” (PG, 1 hour, 38 minutes, Amazon Prime Video) This potent documentary follows the circumstances and aftermath of a global tragedy when two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed five months apart in 2018 and 2019, resulting in 36 deaths. It’s told through the perspective of affected family members, their legal teams, whistle-blowers, and Pulitzer-winning Seattle Times journalist Dominic Gates. Directed by Karim Amer and Omar Mullick.
“A History of the European Working Class” (aka “Le temps des ouvriers” (four 52-minute episodes, DVD and On Demand) Documentarian Stan Neumann masterfully depicts workers’ movements such as universal suffrage, achieving a five-day work week, and gaining social solidarity through archival footage, animation and testimonies from historians, philosophers and modern factory workers.
“Acid Test” (not rated, 1 hour, 43 minutes, On Demand) The debut feature film of writer/ director Jenny Waldo (based on her semi-autobiographical award-winning short film with the same name) is a broadly executed comingof-age indie set in 1992, as a Hispanic teenager enters her senior year with plans to attend Harvard. On a night out with her best friend, she discovers the feminist punk music of Riot Grrrl, drops acid, and drifts further and further from “the plan.” With Juliana Destefano, Brian Thornton, Mia Ruiz, Reece Everett Ryan.
“The Last Out” (not rated, 1 hour, 24 minutes, broadcast and streaming on PBS through Nov. 2) This engaging Cuban baseball verite documentary, filmed over four years, tells the inspiring story of Happy Oliveros, Carlos O. Gonzalez and Victor Baro, Cuban baseball players who risk exile to train in Central America as they chase their dreams of playing in the Major Leagues. It won the audience award at 2021’s Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. Directed by Sami Khan and Michael Gassert.
“Red River Road” (not rated, 1 hour, 29 minutes, On Demand) Filmed during covid lockdown by a real family serving as cast and crew, this unsettling psychological thriller concerns a family of four who, while isolating against a global pandemic that spreads through the internet and robs a person of the ability to perceive reality, often with violent results, suspect that one, or all, of them may be infected. With Paul, Jade, Shaw, and Quinn Schuyler; written, directed, shot and edited by Paul Schuyler.
“The Story of Film: A New Generation” (not rated, 2 hours, 40 minutes, On Demand) A decade after “The Story of Film: An Odyssey,” a documentary on the state of moviemaking in the 20th century, filmmaker Mark Cousins turns an insightful gaze on world cinema from 2010 to 2021, using a range of works — such as “Frozen,” “The Babadook,” and “Cemetery of Splendor”— to explore topics including the evolution of film language, technology, and identities in 21st-century world cinema.