At Berkeley

It seems only germane to Frederick Wiseman's directorial approach to specific institutions, shady industries, and widely-discussed fields that he'd explore the University of California, Berkeley let alone a massive, renowned college campus. Wiseman's approach to the subjects of his films could almost be called passively observational in the regard that he seems to just turn the camera on, sit back, and listen, resisting all urge - or lack thereof - to throw in his opinion of the main focal point of the film or the people he has chosen to observe (not interview). His filmmaking tactics are on a grandscale, despite the vague titles of his films such as Belfast Maine, Hospital, Welfare, and Zoo just to name a few, and what better way to compliment his style of filmmaking (or even vice-versa) than to capture a year at one of the top colleges in the United States? Frederick Wiseman's At Berkeley is a four hour long documentary that is all-encompassing in its desire to include many aspects of the school, extensive in the way it lingers on certain settings for up to twenty-five minutes at time, well-rounded in its attempt to capture all fields from engineering to liberal arts, and exhaustive in its runtime. The documentary mirrors the qualities of a college course - it's frequently enlightening, provides for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, feels as if it makes you a better person, it can be quiet riveting, it can sometimes be boring, but the impact it leaves on you may potentially never be erased.

Read my full analysis of At Berkeley on my personal blog, http://stevepulaski.blogspot.com

I went to Berkeley in the 1960s and it was a transformative experience. While there I did research for Martin Meyerson, at the time acting Chancellor during the Free Speech Movement )and other campus protest movements). I was also a Teaching Assistant and active in the anti-war movement of the time. I was intimately connected to University governance, which is the main business of this film. Being in Berkeley then to take part in a thrilling moment in history... that this long, long film entirely misses. The film, as much as I could take of it, consists of boring classroom sessions during which students discuss issues of concern, alternating with classroom discussions held by various faculty committees discussing philosophical and intellectual concerns regarding the operation of a large public institution. If you have ever been to a college faculty meeting then you know how deadly it can be. This film completely ignores the many artistic and political events that made UC Berkeley such an exciting place to be in the 1960s. The University was pivotal in social change of the time: anti-war, civil rights, feminist issues, police-citizen relations, the place of a university in a time of social upheaval. In the time I watched, none of these vital issues were discussed in the film. If you are an administrator, or someone who is interested in the philosophical and moral issues involved in running a billion dollar institution, then this four hour film might be for you. It mostly takes place in classrooms and committee meetings. It was like a series of graduate seminars in governance. I found it a real snoozer.

So I see there are only two people who've reviewed the film not including mine. One of the reviews fixates on the fact that this film does not discuss the Berkeley of the 60s, which is true, of course. Wiseman has never, and will never make a documentary like that. His films are in real time, connecting scenes with only the last sounds of the previous scene, for only a few seconds, then goes to the next which is often completely unrelated to the scene directly before. In a way, his movies deliberately are non-narratives, and our friend here from Ireland who went to UC Berk in the 60s completely misses the point of why this film was made. Most people who have the stamina to sit through four hours of a film most likely know about the protests and action of the 60s, which by the way, was not the sole possession of Berkeley. Columbia, Harvard, etc., dozens of other campuses had cultures of student and faculty protests too. What the film does do is it shows you snapshots of many talking heads from the student body, faculty, and the administration. There are also some celebrity pop-ups who teach or guest teach such as an awesome one by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. That being said, make yourself available to see this over several days rather than binging....