Belfast, Maine

A month in the life of residents of an average American city, this film is also a summary of the first three decades of Frederick Wiseman's career as a documentary filmmaker. Various institutions that he has previously treated in his works come together here, from a high school (, 1968) to the food processing plant (, 1974). Wiseman filmed in Belfast in October 1996, and then took the more than 100 hours of footage and spent 13 months editing it down to this four-hour epos. Recurring elements include physical and mental health care and the food industry -- an impressive sequence of over 10 minutes about a sardine processing facility is a film unto itself. Everything is filmed in Wiseman's distinctive style: no talking heads, commentary, or music, only images taken directly from reality. As in real life, there is no narrative, but rather just things happening. Wiseman puts this town and its residents under the microscope like a true scientist -- he is detached, but intensely interested all at once. This combination allows his subjects to go about their lives under the surveillance of his camera.