Today we decided to try the rush line and go for tickets to this 3 hour documentary about the National Gallery in London. The director is well known and has been doing docs since the 1960’s. His style is simply to film and let the images and dialogue speak for themselves. There is no narration but after 3 hours you feel like you have had a tour of one of the great art museums in the world. The film takes you through the galleries, offers you short lectures on individual pictures, visits management meetings, goes back to see the work done by restorers and gives you insight into how much thought goes into shows and how they are set up and lighted. Sounds long I know but it is fascinating and well worth your money and your time. Some of the images tied into earlier films including a significant look at a Turner exhibit that tied into Mr. Turner for me at least. The speakers in the film describing the art, the restoring process and the management of the gallery are all excellent. Hard to say too much more but it was really entertaining and I learned a ton. Go see this if you can.

http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/tiff-docs/national-gallery