Every January, I allow myself a handful of New Year鈥檚 resolutions. These always happen a little bit late, because I鈥檓 too superstitious to think about what I don鈥檛 like about myself on the first day of the year.听For 2020, I set a goal of watching more smart documentaries instead of kind-hearted baking shows and, for once, my resolution was perfectly timed. After all, January is the month that the Sundance Film Festival听lineup听and the Oscar nominations herald the season鈥檚 best nonfiction films.
Here are three nature-focused documentaries that are generating buzz听right now, all of which are available to stream online听so that you, too, can put 鈥淲atch more smart stuff鈥 on your to-do list and immediately check it off.
鈥楬辞苍别测濒补苍诲鈥

The Oscar-nominated 听is a soothing back-to-the-land film experience for about 15 minutes, then quickly erupts into chaos. It tells the story of Hatidze Muratova, the last female wild beekeeper in Europe, who also appears to be the most nurturing woman on the planet: she cares for her ailing mother, far-flung beehives, and various pets with unwavering attention. Muratova adheres to a 鈥渉alf for me, half for you鈥 policy with the bees, knowing that if she takes too much, they won鈥檛 have enough to live on and may start attacking other hives. Her life鈥攁nd the bees鈥 lives鈥攖akes a stressful turn when a loud, boisterous family moves in next door with a ton of cows and questionable homesteading skills.听
Filmmakers Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska camped in Muratova鈥檚 backyard for days at a time over the course of three years to capture the escalating drama; they succeeded so much that at times it鈥檚 hard to believe听Honeyland isn鈥檛 scripted. We easily eavesdrop on conversations and other sonic interruptions as the neighbors bulldoze听past Muratova鈥檚 traditional beekeeping听practices.听The tension between the neighbors depicts听the ecological destruction and economic stakes听surrounding the global honeybee crisis听in deeply personal terms. By the end of Honeyland, I was shouting at my screen every time someone took more than half the honey from the bees.
Streaming on Hulu. In U.S. theaters on July 26.
鈥業nto the Canyon鈥

This documentary, by 国产吃瓜黑料 contributors Kevin Fedarko and Pete McBride, offers two main draws. First, you鈥檙e probably never going to see the Grand Canyon quite like the two of them did on their 750-mile thru-hike in 2016: there鈥檚 often no trail听and therefore plenty of opportunities to get very far away from a water source or peer into the canyon from a precarious ledge (a feeling that听Fedarko and McBride really lean into with acrophobia-triggering, handheld camera shots). Second, Into the Canyon will appeal to those who enjoy fun, buddy-comedy sufferfests, which the filmmakers pull off easily: Fedarko, a writer, and McBride, a photographer and filmmaker, have been friends and collaborators for years.听
But the journey goes into deeper territory. Alongside bouts of hyponatremia and monotonous dirt crunching, the two visit with听Navajo Nation citizens, developers, national-park officials, and other stakeholders who are at odds about the future of the Grand Canyon. Their long听hike is a useful narrative tool,听exposing听audiences to broader issues like uranium mining听and expanding tourist development. It manages not to feel like a gimmick; we鈥檙e given a step-by-step meditation on a powerful and ancient landscape听and a vivid lesson about just how quickly we could lose it.
Streaming on Disney+.
鈥Okavango: River of Dreams鈥

This self-described love letter to 叠辞迟蝉飞补苍补鈥檚 Okavango Delta starts out鈥 surprisingly, as in听a 鈥like montage of elephants and water buffalo set to a dramatic cover of the Eurythmics鈥 鈥淪weet Dreams (Are Made of This).鈥 There is no way to prepare for this experience (except with Big Little Lies) but, rest assured, the remainder of the film is about as traditional as nature documentaries get. That鈥檚 not a knock. The narration is majestically calming, and the camerawork is attentive, bordering on sensual. The best stuff includes footage of听elephants鈥攚ith fascinating close-ups of one crushing water lilies鈥攁nd incredible bird鈥檚-eye views of the animals听as they travel through the wetlands; the soothing narrator explains that elephants create 鈥渕osaics鈥 that direct the flow of water around the delta. Who knew! There鈥檚 always room in our brains for bits of trivia about critical wildlife sanctuaries, and Okavango is a particularly beautiful addition to the canon.
The听 is听streaming on Amazon Prime Video. A听feature-length director鈥檚 cut premiered at Sundance on January 26.