Get ready for the ultimate Netflix and chill as we explore the 11 best rated documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015.
Predictably, not one from the best political documentaries made it on this list. Instead, we have tales of human compassion, betrayal, urban fashion, crime, and vine. There’s something for anyone on this list. Some of these best rated documentaries are about parenting, so if you have (or plan to have) children, you might want to check them out.
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To rank 11 best rated documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015, we used our standard formula. Going simply by IMDb rating just wouldn’t cut it, although we did include it in our final ranking. We also scoured dozen of lists on most popular sites in order to get an accurate feel for public opinion. We mixed it all together and came up with a genuine Insider Monkey ranking. We hope you’ll enjoy watching them.
11. Sexy Baby
Site Score: 1, IMDb Score: 1 Overall Score: 2
Directed by Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus
Year: 2012
This is a documentary every parent will want to see. In this digital age of ours, the children are constantly exposed to adult content, in a manner earlier generations have never experienced. This changes fundamentally how today’s kids learn about and perceive sex. According to the filmmakers, you’d be hard pressed to find a high school kid who doesn’t know someone who had sent or received nude pictures. In the interviews, they discuss what the kids are talking about today when it comes to sex. The adults are equally puzzled by the adult content becoming mainstream. We had generation X, generation Y, perhaps this is the time for generation XXX.
10. Hot Girls Wanted
Site Score: 2, IMDb Score: 2 Overall Score: 4
Directed by Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus
Year: 2015
Another documentary about modern age sex directed by Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus, Netflix’s Hot Girls Wanted deals with the harsh realities of amateur porn. Top four amateur porn site average about 41 million hits monthly. Those hits translate to a large pile of cash, but only a fraction of it ends up in the pockets of girls who actually appear in those videos. In interviews with girls and producers, the film reveals how new girls are lured by free airplane tickets and cash in hand offers into filming. They discuss their hopes and fears and what it takes to make it in their world. Again, a must see for any parent, especially those with female children.
9. Little Hope Was Arson
Site Score: 6, IMDb Score: 4 Overall Score: 10
Directed by Theo Love
Year: 2013
East Texas, dubbed the Buckle of the Bible Belt, was shook to the core when 10 churches were burnt to the ground in a span of a month in January 2010. Theo Love set out to make a documentary about these events and the investigation, the biggest in East Texas’ history, which followed them. In such a religious environment, burning a church was a sure way of getting the attention. Burning ten of them has caused such an outcry that even the governor of Texas had to step in and assure people that culprit (or culprits) will be apprehended and brought to justice. Little Hope Was Arson was Love’s first full-length documentary, and it was a resounding success, especially praised for camera work and editing. It won awards at several festivals, including Heartland Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards.
8. Fresh Dressed
Site Score: 7, IMDb Score: 3 Overall Score: 10
Directed by Sacha Jenkins
Year: 2015
Urban fashion inspired by hip-hop has come a long way in the last several decades. From a modest start, on the streets of South Bronx, it has grown to one of the biggest mainstream fashion genres. Almost every notable rapper has a clothing line competing in a demanding market. Sacha Jenkins’ documentary explores this phenomenon, taking us back as far as to the cotton plantation in the South in order to fully grasp the origins of rebellion that led to its huge success. Documentary features interviews with some of the biggest names in hip-hop culture and fashion industry today, like Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, and André Leon Talley, explaining the importance of looking fresh.
7. The Wolfpack
Site Score: 4, IMDb Score: 7 Overall Score: 11
Directed by Crystal Moselle
Year: 2015
Oscar Angulo kept his family locked in their apartment for more than 15 years. This kind of stories pop out in media from time to time and this one would be no different than many others, except for two very important facts. The apartment in question was located in New York’s Lower East Side, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, instead of in some rural backwater. The other fact that set this story apart is that Angulo family had seven children. Crystal Moselle’s documentary explores how these kids coped with their lives by creating their own world, based on imagination and creativity, by creating stories about their favorite movie characters.
6. Somm
Site Score: 5, IMDb Score: 6 Overall Score: 11
Directed by Jason Wise
Year: 2012
Sommeliers are described as the rock stars of the food industry. Master sommelier is the highest title one could aspire in their line of work and for 40 years, there was a total of 170 of Master Sommeliers in the world. The test required to receive the title is one of the hardest in the world. This is the story of four people preparing to take it. Their families are interviewed in the film, testifying to their dedication and hard work. The documentary won the best documentary award at San Luis Obispo Film Festival and was praised by the critics and 6th pace on our list of 11 best rated documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015. The sequel is being released in February 2016.
5. Girls Rising
Site Score: 3, IMDb Score: 8 Overall Score: 11
Directed by Richard Robbins
Year:
Called “Most Powerful Film of the year” by the Huffington Post, Girls Rising deals with the systematic maltreatment of girls in some part of the world. Richard Robbins’ documentary follows nine girls from nine different countries as they fight for their right to education and ultimately, to live their lives as they see fit. The obstacles on their path are many and they have to fight against prejudice, arranged marriages and general bigotry of their respective societies, often resulting in violence against them. The movie has spun a global movement with the same name, with a purpose of creating educational opportunities for girls worldwide.
4. The Source Family
Site Score: 10, IMDb Score: 5 Overall Score: 15
Directed by Jodi Wille and Maria Demopoulos
Year: 2012
Counter-culture utopian communities were a common occurrence in the 1970s. However, most of them seek to isolate themselves from the society at large and create their safe havens as far away from other people as they could. Father Yod, the founder of the Source Family, went for a different approach. He set himself and his 13 wives on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Featuring period photographs, tapes, and documents, as well as interviews with people who were familiar with the community, the documentary depicts their struggle against the local authorities, relocation to Hawaii and the eventual breakup.
3. The Price of the Gold
Site Score: 8, IMDb Score: 10 Overall Score: 18
Directed by Nanette Burstein
Year: 2014
Nancy Kerrigan was one of the participants in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit in 1994. She was one of the favorites for a gold medal and the news of her being attacked and injured right before the competition came as a great shock to the skating community. Her injury wasn’t life threatening but was serious enough to stop her from participating in the event. Her main rival, Tonya Harding, ended up winning the championship. The investigation revealed a bizarre plot worthy of a Hollywood B movie: the attacker was hired by Harding’s ex-husband and she knew of the plan to disable her competition. The details of one of the greatest sports scandals in US history are revealed in ESPN’s 30 for 30 episode The Price of the Gold.
2. Mortified Nation
Site Score: 9, IMDb Score: 9 Overall Score: 18
Directed by Michael Mayer
Year: 2013
Humiliating and hilarious, Mortified Nation is a documentary about a live show that captured the audiences’ attention across the entire US. The show features adults sharing the most embarrassing moments from their teenage diaries. This, apparently simple idea, creates an incredible bonding between them and the audience and the show performs in sold out theaters. The performers “share the shame” and reveal their most inner secrets about their love lives, families, and friends, as well as their general views of life from their teenage period. The documentary features interviews with the show creators, performers, and their families.
1. The Dark Matter of Love
Site Score:11, IMDb Score: 11 Overall Score: 22
Directed by Sarah McCarthy
Year: 2012
Growing up without parents is the single worst thing that could happen to a child. The Dark Matter of Love explores the effects of this, by following the Diaz family and their adoptive children from Russia. Three orphans, brought to a foreign country, try to fit in with the Diaz natural children, their new family, and completely different way of life. Through hired psychologist, we see the effects this situation has on young children’s minds and how it affects their development. This touching story is deservedly on a top spot of our 11 best rated documentaries on Netflix streaming in 2015.
