Best-Reviewed Documentaries 2020

Critics Consensus: A raw, fly-on-the-wall recounting of hospital life in Wuhan in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, 76 Days is an engrossing and potent documentary - and a surprisingly comforting portrait of humanity.

Synopsis: Health care workers and patients combat the COVID-19 outbreak during a lockdown in Wuhan, China.

Directed By: Hao Wu, Weixi Chen

Critics Consensus: As entertaining as it is inspiring, Crip Camp uses one group's remarkable story to highlight hope for the future and the power of community.

Synopsis: A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes teens who have disabilities.

Starring: Dennis Billups, HolLynn D'Lil, Judith Heumann, Denise Sherer Jacobson

Directed By: James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham

Critics Consensus: Dick Johnson Is Dead celebrates a life with bittersweet humor and grace, offering a deeply resonant perspective on mortality in the bargain.

Synopsis: A filmmaker and her elderly father stage his death in various ways to help them face his inevitable demise.

Starring: Dick Johnson, Chad Knorr, Kevin Loreque, Ana Hoffman

Directed By: Kirsten Johnson

Critics Consensus: Collective presents a darkly effective overview of the cycle of political corruption and public cynicism that takes hold when government abrogates its responsibility to the people.

Synopsis: Directed by Alexander Nanau (TOTO AND HIS SISTERS), COLLECTIVE follows a heroic team of journalists as they uncover shocking, widespread corruption. After a deadly nightclub... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Alexander Nanau

Critics Consensus: Totally Under Control does a commendable job of distilling current events into a clear-eyed overview that's as engaging as it is enraging.

Synopsis: Public health officials discuss the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starring: Alex Gibney, Taison Bell, Michael Bowen, Rick Bright

Directed By: Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan, Suzanne Hillinger

Critics Consensus: MLK/FBI presents a sobering overview of the American intelligence community's efforts to discredit and destroy a leader of the civil rights movement.

Synopsis: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered today as an American hero: a bridge-builder, a shrewd political tactician, and a moral leader. Yet throughout his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: David Garrow, Donna Murch, Marc Perrusquia, Andrew Young

Directed By: Sam Pollard

Critics Consensus: Time delivers a powerful broadside against the flaws of the American justice system -- and chronicles one family's refusal to give up against all odds.

Synopsis: Entrepreneur Fox Rich spends the last two decades campaigning for the release of her husband, Rob G. Rich, who is serving a 60-year prison sentence... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Garrett Bradley

Critics Consensus: All In: The Fight for Democracy lives up to its title as a galvanizing rallying cry for voters to exercise -- and preserve -- their right to be heard.

Synopsis: Filmmakers Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortes examine the history of voter suppression and the activists who fight for the rights of U.S. citizens.

Starring: Stacey Abrams

Directed By: Lisa Cortes, Liz Garbus

Critics Consensus: An absorbing and affectionate tribute to a unique individual, Mucho Mucho Amor should prove fascinating for Walter Mercado fans as well as first-timers.

Synopsis: Puerto Rican astrologer and psychic Walter Mercado discusses his life, career and post-fame seclusion.

Starring: Walter Mercado

Directed By: Kareem Tabsch, Cristina Costantini

Critics Consensus: A glimpse of local government at work that's as patiently observant as it is engrossing, City Hall adds another insightful gem to master documentarian Frederick Wiseman's filmography.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman examines the rich history of Boston City Hall.

Directed By: Frederick Wiseman