National Gallery

If you can visit the National Gallery in London personally, more power to you. For those of us who can’t, though, National Gallery is the next best thing. As is par for the course in a Frederick Wiseman doc, we learn a lot about the subject matter, and we do it by smosis; not in scripted interviews, but like any other museum visitor; i.e., listening to the guides, whom Wiseman allows to go on at length to better recreate the real experience. Additionally, as he is also wont to do, Wiseman peeks behind the scenes at the internal mechanism of the institution; in this case, the backstage look…

Was it heart and soul that was supposed to distinguish human beings from animals? Well perhaps here it ought to be more art and soul as we take three hours to look into the workings of the UK’s National Gallery in London. Now I know, the thought of a three hour long documentary might be a bit off-putting, but this has been segmented quite sensibly into vignettes that illustrate the myriad of aspects of the work that goes on - and there is no narration. From exhibitions, conservation and restoration through to gala fund-raising, this proves to be an informative and not always flattering look…