13th: Ava DuVernay

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Ava DuVernay's 13th might literally be the most important documentary of 2016. It might even be the most important documentary of the decade. A stunning, stirring examination of the 13th Amendment and how it makes exceptions to slavery in cases that involve prisoners, it explores nothing less than the soul of America through its treatment of African-Americans in the post-Civil War era. Its methodology is flawless in how it weaves together apparently disparate subjects like the prison industrial complex, the Civil Rights Movement, Reaganomics, and the rise of Donald Trump into a single story. But I also loved the little details involving DuVernay's craftsmanship: how interview subjects are filmed not in neutral sets but in "their own spaces" like office buildings and abandoned train stations; how hip-hop is used like a Greek Chorus commenting on the action. 13th should be shown in schools all over America. And because it's streaming on Netflix, there's no reason why anybody should miss it.

9/10