From greatest-of-all-time films like Dune and Poor Things to fascinating documentaries about street parties, ancient rock bands, and black market sperm donations, there are a ton of interesting movies and TV series to watch on Hulu in March. Below are my picks for the best of the bunch.
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told
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This documentary tells the story of Freaknik, an iconic street party/festival that took over Atlanta every year in the ’80s and ’90s. More than just a good time, Freaknik became a celebration of Black life and culture. Told through archival footage, interviews with 21 Savage, Killer Mike, CeeLo Green, and many more who were there, Freaknik examines the growth of the festival and its eventual demise.
Starts streaming March 21.
We Were the Lucky Ones, Season 1
There are more than enough accounts of World War II from soldiers’ perspectives, but We Were the Lucky Ones charts an ordinary family’s nightmarish experience of the war. Based on a true story, this historical drama follows the Kurcs, a Jewish family in Poland that’s torn apart by the rise of Third Reich. Split up by historical circumstances and personal choices, the Kurcs struggle to survive and reunite in a world gone mad.
Starts streaming on March 28.
SPERMWORLD
With the recent legislation affecting IVF in Alabama, SPERMWORLD is a timely documentary about the world of underground sperm donation. Donors and would-be parents connect on message boards, meet at strip malls or coffee shops, and create life, all outside of the gaze of the medical establishment. Directed by Lance Oppenheim and produced by The New York Times and FX, SPERMWORLD details not just an underground medical movement, but a new kind of family relationship.
Starts streaming March 30.
Photographers
This National Geographic documentary series turns the lens around and tells the stories of the people who create iconic, powerful imagery. Photographers covers all aspect of modern photography; subjects include nature photographer Cristina Mittermeier, fashion photographer Campbell Addy, and photojournalist Muhammed Muheisen.
Starts streaming March 19.
Queens
The patriarchy slides its tentacles around every aspect of life—even our understanding of the animal kingdom. Queens aims to set the record straight. Through nature footage shot all over the world, from the tundra, to the rainforest, to the sea, and with powerful narration by Angela Bassett, this National Geographic documentary details the badass queens of the animal kingdom.
Starts streaming March 5.
Poor Things (2023)
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things is a dizzying mash-up of horror, romance, science-fiction, comedy, and sex. Emma Stone turns in a fascinating, utterly all-in performance as Bella Baxter, a young woman who has the brain of a baby implanted in her head by a mad doctor (played by Willem Dafoe). Set in a steampunk/fairytale version of Victorian Europe, Poor Things is endlessly visually fascinating, intellectually stimulating, and funny as shit. It’s a must-watch (catch it before the March 10 Oscar ceremony, where it is nominated for 11 awards).
Starts streaming March 7.
Dune (2021)
With the sequel in theaters, it’s the perfect time to rewatch 2021’s Dune. Director Denis Villeneuve hit a home run with this adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel. Crafting the difficult, complex source material into a film that both audiences and critics loved—even those audience and critics that are like, “I’m not into science fiction.” Dune features standout performances from Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson, who manage to be as interesting as the bigger-than-huge visuals.
Starts streaming on March 1.
Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014)
In Birdman, Michael Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, an actor who had been household-name famous for his portrayal of movie superhero Birdman. But that was year ago, and now, the specter of Birdman literally haunts him as he tries to make a comeback by starring in a Broadway adaptation of a Raymond Carver story. Seemingly (but not actually) shot in one take, Birdman is a frantic, fascinating portrait of an artist tortured by irrelevance and descending into madness. It’s not like any other movie you’ve ever seen, I promise. (And it’s still a wonder that a movie this weird managed to win the Best Picture Oscar.)
Starts streaming on March 1.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Tom Hanks stars as the most reassuring man in television history, Mr. Rogers, the kid’s TV show host who rose to fame by taking children seriously. Using filmic techniques made famous on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, director Marielle Heller tells Rogers’ story through the eyes Lloyd Vogel, a jaded, emotionally damaged writer assigned to pen a puff piece on Rogers. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is about the conflict between cynicism and sincerity, and in the face of Mr. Rogers’ “cardigan sweaters and light piano jazz” worldview, cynicism doesn’t stand a chance.
Starts streaming March 5.
The Stones and Brian Jones (2023)
This critically lauded documentary from director Nick Broomfield examines the troubled personal life and career of The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones. After forming the band, Jones was gradually pushed from the spotlight by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, until he was sacked from the band and ended up dead in his swimming pool a few weeks later. If you’re into rock and roll mythology, The Stones and Brian Jones offers a huge helping of a research, remembrances, and archival footage from the days when rock and roll actually mattered.
Starts streaming March 14.