Last Updated: December 12th Streaming video is the best thing that’s ever happened to documentaries. People who would never have paid for a ticket to a theatrical nonfiction film are now, thanks to Netflix’s robust selection, scarfing down the stuff by the barrel. But where to start among the masses? Here’s a selection of 20 of the best documentaries on Netflix right now to get you going, conveniently organized by theme for easy bingeing. Related: The 20 Best Movies On Netflix Right Now, Ranked The Thin Blue Line (1988) Before Making a Murderer, before Serial, before The Jinx, there was Errol Morris’ landmark work of investigative cinema dredged up from the heart of Texas. The true crime story famously helped overturn the death row conviction of Randall Dale Adams, thanks in part to the director’s then-unheard-of habit of staging re-enactments of Adams’ alleged crime to see if they squared with available evidence. Its influence has been absorbed to the point where it’s virtually invisible, but The Thin Blue Line still manages several palpable shocks for newcomers to the Adams case.

Once you watch it, read this excellent interview with Morris where he reflects on making the film. Add To Netflix Queue Calling Leslee Udwin’s searing account of the gang rape and murder of a Delhi medical student “true crime” is really a vast understatement — plus, the film isn’t about the investigation. However, it is indeed necessary to view something this horrific as a crime, one perpetuated not just by the brutes on the bus but also by the culture of India itself against its vulnerable female population. At only an hour long, and also including an infuriating interview with one of the convicted men from prison, India’s Daughter packs in more righteous anger than is probably healthy. Watch it when your stomach is steeled enough. It seems as though we’re all now more aware than ever of how utterly screwed any of us can be in an instant if the system places us in its crosshairs for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and not behaving in a way perceived to be “normal” in the immediate aftermath.

Recent true crime documentaries like The Staircase, Making a Murderer and Serial have certainly played a part in illuminating this frightening and unfortunate slice of reality. We can now add Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn’s Amanda Knox to that list. Prepare to be terrified and infuriated as the filmmakers detail how an overzealous Italian prosecutor and a global tabloid press thirsty for a sensational story joined forces to wreck a young woman’s life, largely for their own benefit. togo sushi coquitlam centreAs Daily Mail journalist Nick Pisa freely admits on camera — without any trace of remorse or shame — about his work covering the case, “A murder always gets people going… sushi v dushi cenaAnd we have here this beautiful, picturesque hilltop town in the middle of Italy. umi sushi menu grants pass

It was a particularly gruesome murder; throat slit, semi-naked, blood everywhere. I mean, what more do you want in a story?” How David Bowie, Practical Magic, And An Army Of Fans Turned ‘Labyrinth’ Into A Transcendent Cult Film From Ray Charles To Jimi Hendrix: How Seattle Helped Create R&B And Rock And Roll ‘Stop Crying And Fight Your Father’: ‘Seinfeld’ Writers Tell How Festivus Came To Be The Lasting Impact Of Adidas Tearaway Pants On Hip-Hop And A Hoops Generation Understanding The History And The Motivations Behind The Standing Rock Protests How Do We Combat The Intensifying War On Science? Carl (Jon Favreau) is a chef at an upscale restaurant who feels stunted by the repetitive menu insisted upon by his boss. When he loses his temper and consequently his job, he gets back to his cooking roots making Cuban sandwiches in a food truck with his estranged son. Most Delicious Scene: Carl’s seductive and simple pasta with pesto. Where You Can Watch It: Netflix.

Young, neglected housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) in Mumbai sends an extra-special lunch to her husband via the city’s sprawling courier service in the hopes of rekindling the flame. When it is mistakenly delivered to a solitary widower (Irfan Khan), the two begin a sweet though deluded relationship. Most Delicious Scene: The paneer, in all its iterations. Where You Can Watch It: Amazon. Single mother Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter move to rural France and open a chocolaterie across the street from the local church. Their sweet indulgences and Sunday hours (gasp!) cause a moral uproar, unaided by the arrival of swarthy gypsy Roux (Johnny Depp). But really, how long can people hold out against chocolate? Most Delicious Scene: Anytime a piece of chocolate passes Johnny Depp’s lips. Brothers Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) are Italian emigrants who have opened a restaurant in New York. Primo is the sophisticated chef who will not bow to patrons’ pedestrian expectations of Italian fare;

Secondo is the smooth-talking manager who just wants to run a good business. When they’re tapped for a special benefit concert, they attempt to compromise and pull out all the stops for their “big night.” Most Delicious Scene: The unveiling of the timpano. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) This now-classic food documentary follows 85-year-old Jiro Ono, a world-renowned sushi chef completely devoted to his craft. Watching relentless pursuit of perfection is equal parts awe-inspiring, soul-crushing and totally mouthwatering. Most Delicious Scene: Jiro sushi course “concerto.” Set in a remote 19th Danish century village, two sisters forlorn lead a strict life spent caring for their father, the local minister. Years after missed opportunities to move away and the death of their father, they take in French refugee, Babette Hersant, as their servant. Babette repays the sisters for their kindness with a decadent French meal. Most Delicious Scene: The feast, of course!

Where You Can Watch It: Hulu Plus. Like Water For Chocolate (1992) This movie is all about the passionate affair between Tita (Lumi Cavazos), a beauty from a traditional Mexican family who is forbidden to marry, and Pedro (Marco Leonardi), the young stallion who has stolen her heart. If that doesn’t get you, here’s the twist: Everything Tita cooks is infused with her emotions, causing powerful and not always pleasant reactions in all who consume it. Most Delicious Scene: Tita’s quail in rose petal sauce. Jenna (Keri Russell) is a melancholy and pregnant waitress practicing the art of pie-making at her diner in the hopes of winning the local bake-off and earning enough money to leave her husband. All that changes when a cute new doctor comes to town, and the myriad pies become less a job for Jenna and more a form of therapy. Most Delicious Scene: “Earl Murders Me Because I’m Having An Affair” Pie. Remy (Patton Oswalt) is a rat with a sophisticated palette.

When he comes across the kitchen of a fantastic French restaurant, he teams up with the awkward garbage boy Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) to bring both their cooking dreams to life. Most Delicious Scene: When Remy whips up his first soup. Steve Coogan is asked to tour the finest restaurants of Northern England. When his girlfriend backs out, he invites his best frenemy and fellow comedian Rob Brydon instead. Get ready for incredible cuisine, beautiful countryside, and spot-on Michael Caine impressions. Most Delicious Scene: Every time Rob orders the scallops. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) This movie centers around the dinner table of a widowed, masterful Chinese chef and his three grown daughters in Taipai, Taiwan. Each heavenly Sunday meals brings a fresh clash between the modern, independent daughters and their traditional father. Most Delicious Scene: The opening sequence. Based on a true story, Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot) is a celebrated chef in small-town France who is suddenly tapped by the President of the Republic to be his personal cook.

Though she faces mad shade from the mostly male kitchen staff and more attention from the president, Laborie finds power in her indisputably amazing cooking. Most Delicious Scene: The president’s midnight tartine snack with black truffles. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) A poor boy wins a chance to visit the most glorious chocolate factory ever imagined by mere human minds. Even the wallpaper tastes great! Dude who owns it is kind of strange, though. Most Delicious Scene: THE CHOCOLATE ROOM. The French and their chocolate, amiright? It’s the cute story of the owner of a small chocolate factory and his new chocolatiere, both painfully timid but totally passionate about their work. Most Delicious Scene: The chocolate tasting. Where You Can Watch It: iTunes. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009) Misfit scientist Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) has created a machine to turn water into food, which goes haywire when it starts converting the water in the atmosphere: It starts raining food!

So basically all your childhood—ok, adulthood—dreams come true. Most Delicious Scene: The ice cream storm! This delectable documentary follows three unique chefs, each serving very different in their own amazing way. From Michelin-rated to backyard BBQs, this movie explores how it doesn’t matter what or where you cook, just that you have a passion for food. Most Delicious Scene: The twisted artistry of yuba, shrimp, orange, miso. I Am Love (2009) This film is about a Russian woman Emma (Tilda Swinton) who marries into a powerful Milanese family, though haute living leaves her feeling unfulfilled. Enter Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), a talented chef who rewakens her passion for life with—what else?—food. Most Delicious Scene: The prawns. Ok, it’s about the rise of respectability in California winemaking, but you need something to wash down all these food films! Parisian sommelier Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) comes to Cali in 1976 to find the best wine to go head-to-head with its French counterparts in a blind taste test.

Most Delicious Scene: The Judgement of Paris. When young Chihiro and her family make a pitstop on their way to their new home in the Japanese countryside, they wander into an abandoned amusement park secretly ruled by demons and spirits. When her parents are turned into pigs, Chihiro must find a way to barter with the master of the spiritual bathhouse for all of their freedom. Most Delicious Scene: When the spirit No-Face is all of us: “Just keep the food coming! I want to eat everything!” Where You Can Watch It: You can buy it on Amazon. A dramatic interpretation of the lavish lifestyle of Marie Antoinette in the years leading up to the French Revolution. It’s hard to tell what’s more delicious: all the scandal or all the cake. (JK it’s obviously the cake.) Most Delicious Scene: So many balls, so many pastries. Julie & Julia (2009) The drool-worthy retelling of one woman’s attempt to cook through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.