Ah, the documentary: Perhaps the ultimate “easy to learn, difficult to master” type of filmmaking. In its most simple form, a documentary can be made simply by creating a video sequence of clips strung together by a common thread, allowing an audience to take a deeper look into a subject of study.

Though many succeed at providing that insider look on an issue or person, I find that the best documentaries use their medium to immerse the viewer in a chosen subject; that is to say, through cinematic techniques and editing, the film allows the audience to become part of the issue or narrative at hand, rather than simply as an outsider looking in.

In recent memory, it is hard for me to think of a documentary that has engrossed me in the life of a single person more than “Amy,” directed by Asif Kapadia and winner of Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards. Though the film was initially released some time ago, I had the pleasure of seeing it projected on the big screen at Elgin Community College’s International Film Series event.

In layman’s terms, “Amy” tells the story of British jazz singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, who died in July 2011 from alcohol poisoning. The film is comprised mostly of home video and stock footage recorded during Winehouse’s career and is narrated by her family, friends and fellow musicians.

Of course, much like Winehouse herself, this film surprised me with a shockingly deep look into the downfalls of fame, drug and substance abuse, mental health, and the media.

This can be an incredibly uncomfortable film at times in the best way. Winehouse’s pre-celebrity years are told mostly through home video clips and interviews with those who knew her since adolescence, and between her offbeat personality and early signs of depression and addiction I am positive that most people will be able to think of someone in their life who shares or shared many of her qualities. To put it simply, “Amy” does an excellent job of using video to separate the person from the voice.

The choices made during the film’s outset makes it all the more tragic as Winehouse’s rise in popularity results in her eventual downward spiral at the hands of mental illness, eating disorders, poisonous relationships and heavy drug usage. Once we come to know her, it is difficult to watch Winehouse make horrible decisions and fall victim to viciousness of the paparazzi.

There is a scene that takes place during a Serbian concert, and the massiveness of the crowd’s disapproval of Winehouse’s drunken performance is exemplified not only by an overhead shot, but by the individual iPhone clips of attendees booing her off the stage. As we are presented with clip after clip of tour performances and media coverage, we feel honestly overwhelmed from the excessive nature of her fame, which I consider to be the film’s crowning achievement.

As the film ends with clips from Winehouse’s funeral, we cannot help but wonder if she would have ever wanted this film to be made, or for her story to be known. It is clear that Winehouse, despite being an off-the-wall personality, was an introverted soul and the epitome of a “troubled artist.”

Maybe it is for the better. As people, we are often inclined to strive for fame, wealth, glory and everything in between. By showing the tragedy of an artist who perhaps never wanted any of it, “Amy” shines through with a genuine, humane core; no matter how we appear or how we walk through life we are all people who deserve, at the very least, to be heard and understood.