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Critic Reviews
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The show’s as sharp as ever in “Soldier of Illusion,” the two-parter that opens Season 4. As pure entertainment, it adroitly combines a high concept with lowbrow humor, including Alexander Skarsgård in a role that might take you back to his orange mocha frappuccino days. And like so many of the best Documentary Now! episodes, it shines because it’s remarkably ambitious. ... Documentary Now! has pretty much perfected that formula [satirizing something both highly specific and kind of obscure can yield incredible results].
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Elements of the absurd animate these vignettes. ... The realism within these cockeyed concoctions reminds you time and time again this series isn't monkeying around. [24 Oct - 6 Nov 2022, p.7]
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Sure, one who has seen My Best Fiend and Burden of Dreams might be able to unlock more of the double-episode season premiere, “Soldier of Illusion.” Anyone who enjoys series like Reboot or The Comeback, however, will still have a laugh at Skarsgård’s character directing episodes of faux sitcom The Bachelor Nanny. ... This season saves the very best for last, though, with a stunning ode to Agnès Varda’s one-of-a-kind filmmaking.
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Overall, this season of “Documentary Now!” is not only a loving, yet playful tribute to the documentaries of yore, it also reminded me why I love documentary cinema so much. The format of interrogating life through probing questions, through sifted memory, and through real-time recording is enthralling and can make the most ordinary subjects extraordinary. It can also be emotionally manipulative trash, which this season also reminds its viewers.
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Great parody works when the passion can be felt for the original project, and with Documentary Now!, the often shocking attention to detail and the diligent appreciation for these films shows that this season and this show, in general, contains some of the best modern parody in film or television
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You can appreciate the attention to getting it even better than the real thing and if not, you’ll likely crack up at a batshit German actor shrieking at popping-and-locking dancer before a live studio audience of shepherds. The rest of the season’s episodes stick to this notion of spot-on parody plus one incongruous element or unlikely environment. ... [“Trouver Frisson”] is their love letter to fellow movie lovers. It knows that there are a handful of us laughing through tears.
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As with any season of “Documentary Now!,” some episodes are funnier than others, but all six are worth your time.
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While full of specific references, each episode is dramatically coherent and unerringly funny in its own right.
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Like the best of the season—and the series in general—“Soldier Of Illusion” is rich with detail big and small. ... Another high point of the season is “How They Threw Rocks.” ... The season’s other three episodes are a little more mixed in their execution, and their effectiveness will depend on the viewer’s familiarity with the films that inspired them. ... Even a Documentary Now! episode that doesn’t quite hit on all levels is a feast for the eyes; and at barely 23 minutes each, these episodes are extraordinarily intricate pieces of miniature art.
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“Soldier of Illusion” — with Alexander Skarsgard as Herzog and August Diehl as his excitable leading man, Klaus Kinski — is overthought and diffuse, and not very funny. “Documentary Now!” is better when it burrows into a single mood or character or idea. ... [“Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport” is] a pleasant, prickly trifle, and Meyers’s script offers nuggets for the terrific cast.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 3 out of 3
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Mixed: 0 out of 3
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Negative: 0 out of 3
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Oct 28, 2022