There are some fairly decent documentary films on Netflix worth the time and effort to watch – these are our picks of the five best Netflix documentaries that we would recommend:

Being AP:

This is the story about the final days of racing for the champion Irish jockey A.P. McCoy. Even if the closest thing you get to horse racing is holding your friend’s hair back as she fertilises the turf at Kenilworth at midnight during the J&B Met every year (or whatever the hell it’s called now) – this is a movie worth watching. There’s drama, suspense, human emotion and it’s brilliantly shot.

Rats:

Morgan Spurlock – the guy that made that Super Size Me movie a decade or so ago – directs a fascinating account of how rats are taking over our cities. It sounds a bit gross, but we found it thoroughly enjoyable to learn a bit more about the real rulers of our urban spaces and the complete nightmare that it has become to keep their population numbers under control. If you have a rat phobia however…watch something else.

Particle Fever:

It’s a bit dated now, but Particle Fever is still a great film for anyone who’s interested in science, the nature of reality and the world’s largest physics experiment / machine. If you consider yourself in any way, shape of form – a nerd, then this one should be at the top of your viewing priority list.

Hello I am David:

His life was dramatically portrayed by Geoffrey Rush in the Academy-award winning film Shine. His name is David Helfgott and Hello I am David is a glimpse of what it is like to be a unique human being with a unique gift of a talent for classical music.

Nobody Speak:

Chronicling the last days of Gawker. com – Nobody Speak is a film about free speech and the big money that is now successfully silencing it. It’s an intriguing look at the very public fight between Gawker Media and billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel – and ultimately about the future of independent publishing, in a largely fact-free world.

Much of what we perceive to be difficult – is not. To endure is to overcome the limitations of our thinking.

A challenge is only a challenge in the mind. There is no such thing as a universally difficult task – only one that you believe to be so.

In a remarkable demonstration of the overcoming of the limited nature of mind – this film, by LA-based director Ivan Olita, brings home the true meaning of challenging our assumptions.

The film explores the spiritual practice of Kaihōgyō, performed by the monks of Mount Hiei, Japan. The 1000-Day pilgrimage has been completed by less than 50 monks in over a century, and traditionally, any monk who cannot complete it must take their own life.

These may may also consider the challenge of remaining patient in Cape Town increasingly diabolical traffic situation as part of their challenge. It’s one that they are almost entirely assured of failing.