Ex Libris: New York Public Library

Wiseman is such a treat. Time spent with his films is time spent truthfully. It's rare to gain such an objective look across the entire spectrum of a subject, yet here we again, awe struck by simple instances such as a woman tracing genealogy, a spoken word poem, and a board meeting concerning the modernization of the library system.

Another detached Wiseman overview, this time of the New York Public Library; at times too rambling and long-winded without a central focal point to drive the wispy narrative forward, though the sometimes contentious board meetings discussing the necessity of 'moving with the times' to maintain relevancy does serve as an interesting meta-comment on Wiseman's very deliberate, now old-fashioned style of film-making. "Cameos" by Dawkins, Costello and Smith are definite highlights.

God bless libraries, especially the library streaming service Kanopy, which hosts many of Wiseman's docos for free. This is a lengthy, arduous watch, perhaps best seen in fragments, that exposes the inner going-ons of this library system and its numerous talks (it obviously opens with a Richard Dawkins talk). The candid shots of folks in and around the library using its services seem to me even more interesting, and I could've done with more of them, but I appreciate the genuine nature here.

Like every Wiseman doc it excels in just plain hours long people watching, which would work even with the sound turned off. But I also found the discussions in the board rooms about the new role of libraries in the 21st century as a community center and place to provide acces to information to all very interesting.

This is the first Wiseman documentary I've watched where I felt that the people being filmed had been thoroughly debriefed by the higher-ups before Mr. Wiseman's visits and were very aware that they were being filmed, and it diminished the experience for me greatly.

If you ever doubted the importance of libraries as a social institution then watch this film. Wiseman makes very effective use of his highly honed approach to document all of the key processes that make libraries such important places for bringing together communities and affording learning opportunities for those willing to learn.

Beautiful and precise, despite its long running, documentary about the importance of a public space that nurtures knowledge in a big city -- how it functions as a place for community as a whole in many levels, scientific, artistic and even professional with its many branches and activities.

This is what happens when directors fall in love with everything they shoot. A little fewer board meetings and out-of-context winding social discussions would do the job. However, it might not be Wiseman's fault but over-explaining people's.

37. İstanbul Film Festivali - Pera Müzesi.

Came for the meme of going to the cinemas to see a 3+hr doc on a library, only to feel like I've visited all of the branches of this library. Wiseman's answer to The Falls

The pastrami guy is hilarious.

The library as the repository of not just knowledge and human culture, but (most importantly?) neighborly virtue.