Netflix has been good to me this year. It's shown me how to steal diamonds through diplomacy in Africa, the secret behind great sushi, and perhaps the best found footage film I've ever seen. For those who haven't seen it, Snow On Tha Bluff is a found footage film following the life of Curtis Snow, a drug dealer living in The Bluff in Atlanta. Here's the beginning to bring you up to speed.
From that point we are taken on the wild ride that is based on the real life of Snow himself - I tell you this now so that you won't spend five minutes searching on your phone whilst watching this fantastic look into a harder side of life. Shot on location and featuring real relatives and friends of Snow, I still have trouble believing it's not real. The dialogue, events, and drama involved seem 100% real. The fact that nearly all of these people have never acted makes it all the more fantastic. Big ups to Damon Russell who directed and co-wrote the script with Snow. I'll definitely be watching for his future releases.
Perhaps the best part of the film however is the way it's shot. This is one of the first found footage style films that not only feels natural in the way it's shot, but executes it in a way that neither nauseates or annoys. Borrowing camera shots from Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch Project portraying impoverished life in the most authentic way since Menace To Society, this is one of those films you have to see, and my top Netlflix hit of 2012.