At 84, legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s set to release his newest film “National Gallery” later this year, and the international trailer for the film has arrived online for your delectation.
Along the lines of last year’s superb “At Berkley,” this documentary focuses on a different public-funded institution, the National Gallery in London, a museum focusing on artwork from the mid–1200s to 1900. We saw the film as part of the Director’s Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and were quite taken with the subject matter, although more context would have been desirable.
At this point, you’re either down with Wiseman’s epic portraits of institutions and organizations or you’re not. A two-minute trailer for a three-hour film is unlikely to do much to change your mind, but if you’re the kind of person who desperately wishes Wiseman would grant the rights to his earlier work —“Titticut Follies” and “High School” perhaps?— to Criterion, then just scroll down and watch the trailer for “National Gallery” in all its splendor.