1. Capturing the Friedmans
An Oscar nominated documentary about a middle-class American family who is torn apart when the father Arnold and son Jesse are accused of sexually abusing numerous children. Director Jarecki interviews people from different sides of this tragic story and raises the question of whether they were rightfully tried when they claim they were innocent and there was never any evidence against them.
It has an average vote of 7.163 on TMDB.
2. Das Dorf der Freundschaft (Das Dorf der Freundschaft)
A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George Mizo to help the Vietnamese kids suffering from the Vietnam War.
It has an average vote of 9 on TMDB.
3. I Was a Soldier
Three young Texans try to adjust to small-town life after experiencing the emotional toll of combat in the jungles of Vietnam.
4. Through the Night
When one’s sole focus is to provide for their children, the stakes are extremely high. The need for multiple jobs to make ends meet has become a common reality for many families in this country, which leads to a very important question: who looks after the children while their parents work? Through the Night examines the economic and emotional toll affecting some American families, told through the lens of a 24-hour daycare center in Westchester, New York. At the center of it all is Nunu, the primary caregiver and a hero to many families in need of a safe space to bring their children.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
5. A Powerful Noise
Bookended by call-to-action quotes from Margaret Mead and Mahatma Gandhi, this inspiring documentary follows three extraordinary women -- in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali, and Vietnam -- as they lead day-to-day battles against ignorance, poverty, oppression, and ethnic strife.
6. A Hundred Years of Happiness (A Hundred Years of Happiness)
A Hundred Years of Happiness; an observational documentary, is a personal portraiture of a Vietnamese farming family and their daughter Tram. While her father instils in her the importance of familial obligation to care for one’s ageing parents, her mother desires a secure future devoid of economic hardship. Determined to fulfil both her parent’s wishes, Tram pursues a new life in South Korea as a migrant bride, but her fast-tracked journey leaves little time for reflection.
It has an average vote of 2.5 on TMDB.
7. Hanoi in Whose Eyes (Hà Nội trong mắt ai)
Made in 1982 but banned until 1987, "Hà Nội trong mắt ai" is a Vietnamese documentary film using historical figures and stories intertwined with the history of the city to reflect its citizens' views on society at the time.
8. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
This documentary takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight Goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.
It has an average vote of 6.2 on TMDB.
9. Last Days in Vietnam
During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens.
It has an average vote of 7.193 on TMDB.
10. The Birds Changed Names And The World Turned Into Ice (Las Aves Cambiaron De Nombre Y El Mundo Se Convirtió De Hielo)
Migrant families experience violence, but they also keep beautiful memories when they arrive in new lands. Fantastic and intimate stories, recalled from childhood, travel across time and space, magically intermingling with the help of the four elements and breaking the boundaries of cinema.
11. The Fog of War
Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to managing the Vietnam War as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
It has an average vote of 7.7 on TMDB.
12. Hearts and Minds
Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.
It has an average vote of 7.783 on TMDB.
13. The Coffee Trail with Simon Reeve
Adventurer and journalist Simon Reeve heads to Vietnam to uncover the stories behind the nation's morning pick-me-up. While we drink millions of cups of the stuff each week, how many of us know where our coffee actually comes from?
14. Mother Saigon (Má Sài Gòn)
In Saigon, family culture carries on as it has for centuries, even when blood ties are broken. Through a mosaic of intimate portraits, Má Sài Gòn explores humanity’s universal desire for love, acceptance, connection and belonging through an LGBTQ+ lens. The film is a love letter – a bittersweet ode to a comforting yet disturbing mother, to a city that is as liberating as it is oppressive.
15. Living as One Should (Chuyện tử tế)
A Vietnamese documentary on human suffering and the meaning of kindness.
It has an average vote of 6.3 on TMDB.
16. The Price We Pay
A documentary on the history and present-day reality of big-business tax avoidance, which has seen multinationals depriving governments of trillions of dollars in tax revenues by harboring profits in offshore havens.
It has an average vote of 6.4 on TMDB.
17. Nearly Really Me
Nearly Really Me follows the story of Karla, a 35 year old professional who knows her life is fine, and yet feels that fine isn't good enough, she wants to feel alive. Trouble is, she has no real idea how to go about it. So she outsources her existential crisis to an internationally respected medium for direction and soon finds herself embarking on a trip to Vietnam for their 5 day spiritual conference, where participants gain knowledge, wisdom and insights delivered unlike any other in the world.
18. Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.
It has an average vote of 7.5 on TMDB.
19. Return with Honor
The story of U.S. fighter pilots shot down over North Vietnam who became POWs for up to 8 and a half years.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
20. Blood Road
Blood Road follows the journey of ultra-endurance mountain bike athlete Rebecca Rusch and her Vietnamese riding partner, Huyen Nguyen, as they pedal 1,200 miles along the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail through the dense jungles of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Their goal: to reach the site where Rebecca’s father, a U.S. Air Force pilot, was shot down in Laos more than 40 years earlier.
It has an average vote of 5.7 on TMDB.