What documentary/film would you recommend from your country?
May 3, 2025
What documentary/film about some historical or political event of your choice from your country would you recommend to another European?
12 comments
The three part miniseries about the Dutch Childcare Benefits Scandal (De Toeslagenaffaire). Absolutely devastating
Goodbye lenin! is a pretty good german movie about the difference between DDR and BRD and the unification of east and west. I think its in german tough so youd have to watch it with subtitles.
“Troll Hunter” from 2010 gives a fairly accurate depiction of life in modern day Norway:
Hand held, is about the photographer that was so shocked with the orphanages situation that he started to do charity work with his wife. They brought medics and help in orphanages.
The orphanages situation in Romania during and after the communism is one of our biggest human tragedy in our history.
A few thousands children have died due to disease, fammine and abuse and even with proof nobody was prosecuted.
There were children also that got permanent damage from the abuse and become invalid, hence they become part of the social system forever and they just changed the orphanage for the asylum. Which a lot of them are horrific, so these people never experience a normal life. Imagine being chained for most of your life and deprive by love.
I know that we had strenghten our adoption laws because a lot of children where adopted by foreigners but most of those children got lucky. The rest that remained in the orphanages most go them died or ended up on the streets.
Really enjoyed this, sad that it seems particularly relevant again
Berlin 1933 – Tagebuch einer Großstadt/Diary of a big city
It is a documentary in co-operation with Arte. With contemporary footage from Berlin and how incredibly fast Berlin changed under the Nazis in 12 month. In 1933, Berlin was one of the most modern cities in the world, a pulsating metropolis. Twelve months later, none of its vitality remains. The city is subject to one party and one ‘leader’. Berliners cheer the new power, retreat from it into their private lives or flee – if they can escape before they disappear into the concentration camps.
The Rent Strike, a CATU documentary on the rent strikes in the 1970s. It gives you hope that we can change how it is now by applying the same tactics, it’s just harder now because we have to fight private landlords.
A good film about an amazing event of the Irish army in Congo then later betrayed by their own,
Zwarte Soldaten – Six former Waffen SS soldiers from The Netherlands tell their stories about their time at the Waffen SS and the reasons why they joined. Every story is different, some are terrible people and still bitter about Germany’s loss, others were forced to join or had no idea what they signed up for.
The documentary is from 2011 (I believe) and I’m not sure if a subtitled version exists. The original version is available on YouTube.
Two short series actually:
Vliegende Hollanders (2020): a series about the early years of KLM, the Dutch national airline.
Rampvlucht (2022) : a short series about the Bijlmer disaster, the El Al crash in Amsterdam in 1992.
*Inside the Medieval Mind*, presented by Professor Robert Bartlett, is a documentary series on life in medieval England in four parts: Power, Sex, Knowledge and Belief. It explores roughly the 11th-13th centuries and is a fascinating look on how people in England in that era then viewed the world, going over real anecdotes and examples. The Power episode explores contemporary ideas about class, knighthood, kingship, chivalry and the feudal hierarchy; the Sex episode focuses on men, women, sexuality and gender; the Knowledge episode on scientific advances and discoveries; and the Belief episode on the supernatural: elves, fairies, revenants, spirits, magic and the like.
12 comments
The three part miniseries about the Dutch Childcare Benefits Scandal (De Toeslagenaffaire). Absolutely devastating
Goodbye lenin! is a pretty good german movie about the difference between DDR and BRD and the unification of east and west. I think its in german tough so youd have to watch it with subtitles.
“Troll Hunter” from 2010 gives a fairly accurate depiction of life in modern day Norway:
https://youtu.be/uvwEyHeRSvE?si=fk_-IBXh7kuK79Rv
Hand held, is about the photographer that was so shocked with the orphanages situation that he started to do charity work with his wife. They brought medics and help in orphanages.
The orphanages situation in Romania during and after the communism is one of our biggest human tragedy in our history.
A few thousands children have died due to disease, fammine and abuse and even with proof nobody was prosecuted.
There were children also that got permanent damage from the abuse and become invalid, hence they become part of the social system forever and they just changed the orphanage for the asylum. Which a lot of them are horrific, so these people never experience a normal life. Imagine being chained for most of your life and deprive by love.
I know that we had strenghten our adoption laws because a lot of children where adopted by foreigners but most of those children got lucky. The rest that remained in the orphanages most go them died or ended up on the streets.
Really enjoyed this, sad that it seems particularly relevant again
[https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/white-riot-rock-against-racism](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/white-riot-rock-against-racism)
Berlin 1933 – Tagebuch einer Großstadt/Diary of a big city
It is a documentary in co-operation with Arte. With contemporary footage from Berlin and how incredibly fast Berlin changed under the Nazis in 12 month. In 1933, Berlin was one of the most modern cities in the world, a pulsating metropolis. Twelve months later, none of its vitality remains. The city is subject to one party and one ‘leader’. Berliners cheer the new power, retreat from it into their private lives or flee – if they can escape before they disappear into the concentration camps.
The Rent Strike, a CATU documentary on the rent strikes in the 1970s. It gives you hope that we can change how it is now by applying the same tactics, it’s just harder now because we have to fight private landlords.
[Der Untergang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downfall_(2004_film)), about the last days of Hitler in the Führerbunker in Berlin.
Siege of Jadotville
A good film about an amazing event of the Irish army in Congo then later betrayed by their own,
Zwarte Soldaten – Six former Waffen SS soldiers from The Netherlands tell their stories about their time at the Waffen SS and the reasons why they joined. Every story is different, some are terrible people and still bitter about Germany’s loss, others were forced to join or had no idea what they signed up for.
The documentary is from 2011 (I believe) and I’m not sure if a subtitled version exists. The original version is available on YouTube.
Two short series actually:
Vliegende Hollanders (2020): a series about the early years of KLM, the Dutch national airline.
Rampvlucht (2022) : a short series about the Bijlmer disaster, the El Al crash in Amsterdam in 1992.
*Inside the Medieval Mind*, presented by Professor Robert Bartlett, is a documentary series on life in medieval England in four parts: Power, Sex, Knowledge and Belief. It explores roughly the 11th-13th centuries and is a fascinating look on how people in England in that era then viewed the world, going over real anecdotes and examples. The Power episode explores contemporary ideas about class, knighthood, kingship, chivalry and the feudal hierarchy; the Sex episode focuses on men, women, sexuality and gender; the Knowledge episode on scientific advances and discoveries; and the Belief episode on the supernatural: elves, fairies, revenants, spirits, magic and the like.
It’s a really good series.