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Powaqqatsi poster

Movies that feel likePowaqqatsi (1988)

An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

If you loved Powaqqatsi, the closest films we have are Cane Toads: An Unnatural History (1988), Brother's Keeper (1992) and The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987). All three share Powaqqatsi's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary (1997).

πŸ… 56% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Godfrey Reggiocontemplative
8 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video Β· Criterion Channel Β· Kanopy

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If Powaqqatsi hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Koyaanisqatsi (1983) Β· Naqoyqatsi (2002)

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: 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.

Brother's Keeper poster
Brother's Keeper
1992 Β· dir. Bruce Sinofsky
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.5documentary

Both lean on stillness more than on documentary

This documentary by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky details the murder trial of Delbert Ward. Delbert was a member of a family of four elderly brothers, working as semi-literate farmers and living together in isolation from the rest of society until William's death.

The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On poster
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
1987 Β· dir. Kazuo Hara
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.2documentary

Contemplative documentary in both cases

Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old veteran of the New Guinea campaign in World War II, sets out to conduct interviews with survivors and relatives to find the truth behind atrocities committed by Japanese military, in particular the unexplained killing of two Japanese privates in his unit.

Streetwise poster
Streetwise
1984 Β· dir. Martin Bell
πŸ… 92%β˜… 8.2documentary

Contemplative documentary, and it commits to that

This documentary about teenagers living on the streets in Seattle began as a magazine article. The film follows nine teenagers who discuss how they live by panhandling, prostitution, and petty theft.

Burden of Dreams poster
Burden of Dreams
1982 Β· dir. Les Blank
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.9documentary

Both working the same documentary territory

The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.

Gates of Heaven poster
Gates of Heaven
1978 Β· dir. Errol Morris
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.3documentary

Both know what they want from documentary

A showcase of workers in the animal burial industry while dealing with heavier existential questions regarding mortality and the afterlife. Floyd 'Mac' McClure believes that a graceful burial is as important for pets as it is for people; he chronicles his struggles to keep his niche business afloat, and interviews several of his associates and one of his competitors, the manager of a rendering plant.

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

The documentary is handled with the same confidence

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

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

Documentary approached the same way

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.

Isle of Flowers poster
Isle of Flowers
1989 Β· dir. Jorge Furtado
β˜… 8.5documentary

Documentary in the same key

A tomato is planted, harvested and sold at a supermarket, but it rots and ends up in the trash. But it doesn’t end there: Isle of Flowers follows it up until its real end, among animals, trash, women and children. And then the difference between tomatoes, pigs and human beings becomes clear.

Little Dieter Needs to Fly poster
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
1997 Β· dir. Werner Herzog
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8documentaryPrime Video

Documentary of the same temperament

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.

Sans Soleil poster
Sans Soleil
1983 Β· dir. Chris Marker
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.7documentary

Both play documentary straight

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

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

The same documentary instincts

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.

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