Plunging into the viscera of human bodies, the directorial duo behind Leviathan open up glistening worlds of ecstatic abstraction. Never shrinking from grit or guts, this fascinating documentary surfaces in underfunded Parisian hospitals, where doctors inject a good dose of humor into disrepair.

This breathtaking view of the American West revealed the groundbreaking vision of Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Ilisa Barbash from Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab (Leviathan) through its visual and aural pleasures. Newly restored, Sweetgrass is one of the defining documentaries of this century.

After Leviathan won a slew of awards, its directorial duo stunned audiences with this portrait of an infamous cannibal and his brother. Unflinching? Too feeble a word for this one. As ignoble urges sidle up to fraternal loyalty in extreme close-ups, an air of obsession and moral ambivalence reigns.