20 Documentary Movies You Must See Before You Die

4. Sans Soleil (1983)

As far as documentaries are concerned, Sans Soleil is a true original.

It's hard to pin down what, exactly, Chris Marker's insanely creative motion picture actually is. Is it a travelogue? A parody of the documentary format? A meditation on memory?

What's for sure is that Sans Soleil is a joy to behold - and that there's nothing else quite like it. As the movie hops around the globe and flicks between subjects, observing moments and rituals at a relentless pace, a woman narrates over the top of the images as Marker's own surrogate, transferring his thoughts to a piece that hits on an incalculable amount of ideas and themes. As an ode to the imagination, there are few that can beat this flick.

It has been said by many critics that Sans Soleil is never the same film twice; that every time you watch it the picture reveals new angles, sides and perspectives. The ultimate joy, really, is that something like this even exists. San Soleil is an arty film, yes, but it's also a seriously playful one. Marker, after all, called it "nothing more than a home movie."