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Naqoyqatsi poster

Movies that feel likeNaqoyqatsi (2002)

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

If you loved Naqoyqatsi, the closest films we have are Cane Toads: An Unnatural History (1988), Overnight (2003) and Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002). All three share Naqoyqatsi's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Dog (2013).

πŸ… 48% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Godfrey Reggiocontemplative
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See it on the Mood Map

If Naqoyqatsi hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Koyaanisqatsi (1983) Β· Powaqqatsi (1988)

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History poster
Cane Toads: An Unnatural History
1988 Β· dir. Mark Lewis
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.6documentary

Common ground: nature documentary

The difference: Reviewed even better

A documentary detailing the spread of Hawaiian sugar-cane toads through Australia in a botched effort to introduce them as counter pests.

Overnight poster
Overnight
2003 Β· dir. Mark Brian Smith
πŸ… 78%β˜… 7.1documentary

Contemplative documentary, and it commits to that

Alternately hilarious and horrifying, Overnight chronicles one man's misadventures of making a Hollywood movie. It starts out as a rags to riches story as Troy Duffy, a Boston-bred bartender, sells his first screenplay for The Boondock Saints.

Dogtown and Z-Boys poster
Dogtown and Z-Boys
2002 Β· dir. Stacy Peralta
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.6documentary

Both lean on stillness more than on documentary

This award-winning, thrilling story is about a group of discarded kids who revolutionized skateboarding and shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. Featuring old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS captures the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough "locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing.

Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. poster
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.5documentary

Contemplative documentary in both cases

Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris investigates the case of a man who became an authority on capital punishment, but was discredited when he got involved on the wrong side of a court case. Leuchter, a meek man whose appearance belies his grim expertise, develops what he says is a more effective electric chair. Before long, he's in demand from officials who want his opinions on other execution methods. But when called to aid the case of an accused Holocaust denier, Leuchter's problems begin.

Riding Giants poster
Riding Giants
2004 Β· dir. Stacy Peralta
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.8documentary

Documentary in the same key

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

We Live in Public poster
We Live in Public
2009 Β· dir. Ondi Timoner
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.1documentary

The documentary is handled with the same confidence

In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.

Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary poster
Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary
1997 Β· dir. S.R. Bindler
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.6documentary

Both know what they want from documentary

Filmmaker S.R. Bindler profiles Texas contestants trying to win a truck by keeping one hand on it longer than everyone else.

Tabloid poster
Tabloid
2011 Β· dir. Errol Morris
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7documentary

The same documentary instincts

One of America's top documentary filmmakers turns his attention to the outrageous and nearly unbelievable story of Joyce McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming beauty queen who gained a great deal of notoriety after being accused of kidnapping a young Mormon missionary, restraining him in chains and raping him in 1977 England. The unbalanced McKinney is extensively interviewed, particularly about her ambition to write a memoir telling her side of the tale.

The Dog poster
The Dog
2013 Β· dir. FranΓ§ois Keraudren
πŸ… 93%β˜… 6.7documentary

Both play documentary straight

In 1972, John Wojtowicz attempted to rob a Brooklyn bank to pay for his lover’s sex-change operation. The story was the basis for the film Dog Day Afternoon. The Dog captures John, who shares his story for the first time in his own unique, offensive, hilarious and heartbreaking way. We gain a historic perspective on New York's gay liberation movement, in which Wojtowicz played an active role. In later footage, he remains a subversive force, backed by the unconditional love of his mother Terry, whose wit and charm infuse the film. How and why the bank robbery took place is recounted in gripping detail by Wojtowicz and various eyewitnesses.

Lost in La Mancha poster
Lost in La Mancha
2002 Β· dir. Keith Fulton
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.3documentary

Both working the same documentary territory

Fulton and Pepe's 2000 documentary captures Terry Gilliam's attempt to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote off the ground. Back injuries, freakish storms, and more zoom in to sabotage the project.

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles poster
πŸ… 65%β˜… 7.2documentary

Both are documentary through and through

An urban mystery unfurls as one man pieces together the surreal meaning of hundreds of cryptic tiled messages that have been appearing in city streets across the U.S. and South America.

Marwencol poster
Marwencol
2010 Β· dir. Jeff Malmberg
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.5documentary

Documentary approached the same way

After a vicious attack leaves him brain-damaged and broke, Mark Hogancamp seeks recovery in "Marwencol", a 1/6th scale World War II-era town he creates in his backyard.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Naqoyqatsi’s defining feeling.