Frederick Wiseman

Man, the judge in “Juvenile Court”… what a job

Apparently you can watch the latest film here

https://www.pbs.org/video/menus-plaisirs-les-troisgros-rbfnou/

we just watched that -- it was very long and medium enjoyable imo. i enjoyed the kitchen scenes and seeing the chefs foraging and clowning around, but it was definitely bougie Wiseman (not my favorite)

i did like that it was an entry into the behind-the-scenes kitchen films/media that did not portray the kitchen as a chaotic/abusive/stressful place. everything was extremely placid.

I’m sure i will eventually get around to it and probably enjoy it, but even as a Wiseman buff i’ve had a hard time working up much enthusiasm for it just based on the subject

After years of having it on my watchlist i finally got around to Near Death a couple weeks ago and it completely rocked my world, i havent been able to stop thinking about it since, might be his masterpiece imho. It wasnt as disturbing or difficult to watch as i’d always feared, but just unbelievably rich & complex.

Such a great film--my second favourite (seems like a weird word to use) after Welfare.

His new film is not as good as "Near Death", however, it is still worth checking out. Wiseman has great rhythm to his films. This latest one is no exception. The 4 hours zoom by really quickly.

Going through his films in order - after Ballet (1995) I had a hard time with La Comédie-Française (1996), I just couldn't relate to it.

Public Housing (1997) is about the Ida B. Wells housing project in Chicago (which was torn down in the 2000s). It is pretty great.

I am watching Belfast, Maine (1999) now and loving it. It is over 4 hours long though, so I'm taking my time