Political Documentaries on Netflix
Last updated January 21, 2025
The Last Days
1998 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsDirected by James Moll and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, this powerful, Oscar-winning documentary recounts the harrowing stories of five Hungarian Jews who endured the horrors of the holocaust and the reign of Adolf Hitler. In addition to the testimonials of the Hungarian subjects, the heart-wrenching film also includes accounts from U.S. soldiers who participated in the liberation of the Nazi death camps in 1945.
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The Square (Trailer)
2014 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThe citizens of Egypt take to the streets of Cairo and seize control of their government after years of corrupt rule in this inspiring documentary that captures a popular revolution as it battles police, the military and even special interest groups.
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The Island President
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis documentary chronicles the extraordinary efforts of Mohamed Nasheed, during his term as president of the Maldive Islands, to fight global warming and prevent rising ocean levels from deluging his low-lying archipelago nation right off the map.
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Who Killed the Electric Car?
2006 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAmid a volatile climate of ever-changing gas prices, this documentary delves into the short life of the GM EV1 electric car -- a fuel-efficient auto that was once all the rage in the mid-1990s and now has fallen by the roadside. How could such a green-friendly vehicle fail to transform lives? Through interviews with government officials, former GM employees and concerned celebs, filmmaker Chris Paine seeks to find out.
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Pink Ribbons, Inc.
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWho really benefits from the pink ribbon campaigns: the cause or the company? In showing the real story of breast cancer and the lives of those who fight it, this film reveals the co-opting of what marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause."
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Blue Gold: World Water Wars
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsNarrated by Malcolm McDowell, this award-winning documentary from director Sam Bozzo posits that we're moving closer to a world in which water -- a seemingly plentiful natural resource -- could actually incite war. As water becomes an increasingly precious commodity, corrupt governments, corporations and even private investors are scrambling to control it which leaves everyday citizens fighting for a substance they need to survive.
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Money and Medicine
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAs rising health care costs threaten to bankrupt the country, Money and Medicine is a documentary that tackles the medical, ethical and financial challenges of containing runaway health care spending.
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Bobby Fischer Against the World
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Liz Garbus sheds light on one of the most enigmatic of 20th-century personalities: Bobby Fischer, a boy who rose to fame as a world-champion child chess prodigy and later found himself embroiled in Cold War-era politics.
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A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
2006 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn this straight-from-the-headlines documentary, award-winning filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack examine the world's dependency on oil and the impending chaos that's sure to follow when the resource finally runs dry.
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The Fog of War
2003 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis Oscar-winning documentary traces former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's career from government to the World Bank; but his work during the Vietnam War -- examined through archival footage and interviews -- is the real highlight.
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Kimjongilia
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsMarked by a long history of repression and information control, North Korea continues to scrupulously monitor the activities of its citizens. This exposé reveals daily life under a totalitarian regime as well as the stories of prison camp survivors. Filmmaker N.C. Heikin draws on her artistic sensibility as a dancer and performer to craft a stylish documentary that bears a surprising message of hope and inspiration.
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Wiebo's War
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsPaced like a thriller, this documentary chronicles back-to-nature Christian and accused eco-terrorist Wiebo Ludwig's struggle to save his little patch of Northern Canada from the scourge (or boon) of what lies beneath it: a huge natural gas field.
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The Fall of Fujimori
2006 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsEllen Perry's true-life political thriller documents the reign of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, a man who ran on a ticket to fight poverty but whose rule was ultimately marked by violence, corruption and controversy. With promises to restore stability and crush terrorist insurgents, Fujimori won popular support -- and the 1990 election -- but his administration eventually dissolved under the weight of political abuses and scandal.
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Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex Lies and Global Economics
1995 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn this insightful program, witty and irreverent economics professor, goat farmer and former New Zealand Member of Parliament Marilyn Waring challenges the numerous myths of economics.
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Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFrank Popper's engaging documentary follows the 2004 campaign of Jeff Smith, a young political science instructor at Washington University who runs for the seat vacated by retiring congressman Dick Gephardt. Pitted against state Rep. Russ Carnahan, the scion of a powerful political family, Smith proves that an unknown with no money can make a difference, forging a campaign that ultimately poses a serious challenge to Carnahan.
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An Inconvenient Truth
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFormer Vice President Al Gore wages a passionate campaign -- not for the White House, but for the environment -- in this Oscar-winning documentary. Laying out the facts of global warming, Gore urges audiences to act before it's too late.
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Secrets of Mary Magdalene
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThanks in large part to the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code -- which purports that Mary Magdalene was Jesus Christ's wife -- she's never been a more compelling figure. In this riveting documentary, religious scholars contribute their insights.
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Sir! No Sir!
2005 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker and activist David Zeiger's documentary chronicles the largely forgotten antiwar activities of American GIs and other members of the military during the Vietnam era -- actions that put them in greater peril than civilian protesters. Powerful and surprising, the film weaves together the stories of veterans who participated in the opposition movement, an effort that, by the early 1970s, found widespread support from civilians and troops alike.
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Ralph Nader: An Unreasonable Man
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThought-provoking and revealing, this biographical documentary profiles the personal and professional life of Ralph Nader, one of America's most controversial consumer advocates and political activists. Interviews and archival footage help illuminate the career of an influential public figure whose willingness to take on big industry earned him a reputation as both a working-class hero and a public pariah.
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The Corporation
2003 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFilmmakers Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott explore the genesis of the American corporation, its global economic supremacy and its psychopathic leanings, with social critics like Noam Chomsky and Milton Friedman lending insight in this documentary.
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The Age of Stupid
2009 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn the desolate future of 2055, an archivist combs through a vast collection of videos to learn what went wrong with the planet. His research points to the first decade of the century, when humans blithely ignored the warning signs of climate change.
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Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn 1976, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu led a daring rescue of hostages at Uganda's Entebbe Airport, in which he was the lone Israeli casualty. Through letters, photos, family, friends and fellow soldiers, this moving documentary tells a hero's story.
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YERT - Your Environmental Road Trip
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsCalled to action by a planet in peril, three friends hit the road to explore every state in America in search of the extraordinary innovators and citizens who are tackling humanity's greatest environmental crises.
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Capitalism: A Love Story
2009 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Michael Moore (Sicko, Fahrenheit 9/11) takes on capitalism's roots, the floundering U.S. economy, and 2008's global financial meltdown and subsequent bank bailout in this rousing documentary. Combining stories about those who suffer most from Corporate America's greed and insatiable thirst for profits and the people most responsible for myriad crises, Moore embarks on another shocking fact-finding rampage.
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16 Acres
2012 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsCapturing the controversies and searing emotions surrounding the plans for rebuilding the Ground Zero site, filmmaker Richard Hankin documents the political jousting and maneuvering that have plagued the process, making consensus hard to achieve.
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