National Gallery

Frederick Wiseman spent months editing the reams of footage he shot on location, but what's remarkable about the finished product is how effortless it feels. National Gallery is one of the director's most fluid and elegant works, securing our attention quickly and keeping us engrossed on its journey behind the scenes of the iconic London landmark. We see people painstakingly restoring and cleaning art, we sit in on budget meetings (Wiseman's knack for making such scenes fascinating is uncanny), we hear lectures contextualising and illuminating various artworks, and often we simply watch members of the public as they stroll around the building and gaze upon masterpieces.

National Gallery is a celebration of art and of anyone who loves it, shares it and protects it, and one can't help feeling inspired by being in such company. The film is made with Wiseman's customary perceptiveness and unfussy grace, but in its final moments it achieves a sense of transcendence that lifts it into the top tier of this great documentarian’s work.