Documentary's 80s Dive: Walls, Detectives, and Youth

Mark Cousins's extensive documentary series, The Story of Documentary Film, presents a deep dive into the 1980s across two of its sixteen chapters. The first episode, referencing Robert Frost's "Something there is that doesn't love a wall," explores empathy and films that challenged indifference and political barriers, particularly noting the period leading up to the Berlin Wall's collapse.

The second chapter, subtitled "detectives," focuses on investigative documentaries that uncovered truths, especially concerning wartime histories. This segment features filmmakers like Marcel Ophuls and Claude Lanzmann, examining their methods and the compelling narratives they brought to light. The episode also touches on music documentaries and rebellious youth culture that contrasted with the Soviet state's dullness.

These episodes showcase a rich collection of films, including works that questioned complacency and societal norms. Examples include Herz Frank's "The Last Judgement" and Juris Podnieks's "Is It Easy to Be Young?" from Latvia, and Jan Troell's "Land of Dreams" from Sweden.

The series also highlights influential campaigning documentaries such as Michael Moore's "Roger and Me" and Edouardo Coutinho's "Twenty Years Later." It further includes Kazuo Hara's "The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On," which confronted Japanese war crimes through confrontational filmmaking, and Abbas Kiarostami's "Homework." The role of cinema versus television in the documentary experience is also considered.