The world famous National Gallery in London is one of the great museums of the world, with an incredible 2400 paintings from the 13th to the 19th century housed within its ‘must visit’ walls. Showing tonight on Rialto Channel is NATIONAL GALLERY the film, a fly-on-the-wall documentary that takes the lucky viewer behind the scenes of a true London institution, a destination that is amongst the top five places to visit for tourists visiting the city and those that live there. The film has been called more than just a documentary but a “portrait of a place”, its way of working and relations with the world, its staff and public, and, of course, its exceptional collection of paintings.
The world famous National Gallery in London is one of the great museums of the world, with an incredible 2400 paintings from the 13th to the 19th century housed within its ‘must visit’ walls. Showing tonight on Rialto Channel is NATIONAL GALLERY the film, a fly-on-the-wall documentary that takes the lucky viewer behind the scenes of a true London institution, a destination that is amongst the top five places to visit for tourists visiting the city and those that live there. The film has been called more than just a documentary but a “portrait of a place”, its way of working and relations with the world, its staff and public, and, of course, its exceptional collection of paintings.
The work of director Frederick Wiseman, the documentary is set almost entirely within the confines of its namesake. It’s interesting to note that the three-hour-long film has no musical score and no apparent added sound effects, which is rare for a modern documentary. What it does have is a LOT of talking (and then more talking), much of which takes place in the presence of the amazing masterworks on display. Many believe that a lot of that talk is a distraction and an annoyance, and critics seem extremely divided as to whether NATIONAL GALLERY is worth the time spent on the couch or not. I must say I am too, as it has so many wonderful qualities as well as, well… bloody boring ones.
So NATIONAL GALLERY gives us the life of an institution, and the filmmaker goes behind the scenes to find it, too. He actively peeks in on discussions among administrators as they consider marketing schemes that risk commercialising the museum’s public image and wrangle with the impact of budget cuts, which gives us a rare glimpse into the cash-centric conversations that go on behind the scenes in an organisation as big as this. On a more aesthetically minded level, he observes the incredible team of framers at work, listening in on talks among curators who carefully position paintings in galleries while calibrating the effect of lighting and positioning on the viewing experience. As he watches the even more incredible restorers tweak masterworks with meticulous care we get to follow discussions about the modern technique of restoration that we would otherwise never be privy to. Bloody fascinating to be honest, and apparently it’s a Wiseman signature to avoid voice-over, talking-head interviews or explanatory text, including identifiers.
However, this never-ending flood of official, sometimes-pompous and didactic discourse about art has moved more than one critic to call NATIONAL GALLERY a “smug film that smothers high culture in deference”. This may be true at times, but I love that the film covers off art and process, big money and mystery, and all the many, many people involved in bringing these precious, outstanding and beautiful artworks to public view.
I reckon it’s more than possible to enjoy NATIONAL GALLERY just for its privileged three-hour virtual tour of the museum, including the behind-the-scenes sections that most punters on site will never get to experience. You could say that you’d be better off spending those three hours in the National Gallery looking at paintings, without anyone to tell you what to think – but for many of us that will never be an option. And yep, this is the next best thing!