Unrest (Netflix)

Unrest, Jennifer Brea’s debut documentary about her own battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a powerfully uncomfortable viewing experience. Brea holds no punches in what she chooses to show us; she started videotaping herself early on in order to prove to her doctor’s that something was wrong, and she isn’t afraid to show herself huddled in a clump on her front patio unable to get inside the house or crying uncontrollably. She also holds nothing back in showing the toll that the disease takes on her husband, who is honest in how he is adapting to a different married life than he ever expected. Neither of them are perfect, and they aren’t afraid to admit their mistakes (or better yet, show them to us). She wants us to understand this disease and knows that you can’t completely understand it until you really see it, warts and all.

Brea doesn’t just take us behind her closed doors, however. She also branches out to interview (many times over Skype) people around the world fighting the same battle as she. These stories, especially one from Denmark where authorities have taken a daughter away from her parents because they see her CFS not as a disease but as a form of abuse, take on a powerful life of their own. They resonate and paint a bigger picture, and the film manages to make a profound political statement about the way that we view this disease not by being political but by being personal. Brea knows that the situations may change, but the symptoms never do.

The Force (Netflix)

Like a polished version of “COPS,” The Force puts us directly in the midst of the Oakland Police Force over the course of two years. It takes us everywhere in the force — from police cruisers and traffic accidents to training rooms and press conferences, with only minimal help from a few narrative title cards — and lets the remarkable footage that director/ cinematographer Peter Nicks captured speak for itself. We watch as police officers nobly deal with angry witnesses and learn to deal with tear gas, but we also watch as community groups lament that there will never be a “good cop” and the force deals with police shootings and abuse. Nicks lets each of these players show their good and bad sides, and the film never tries to tell us what it thinks about them.