The Great Museum

Opting to observe rather than analyse, Johannes Holzhausen's behind-the-scenes tour of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is close in spirit to Nicolas Philibert and Frederick Wiseman's respective studies of The Louvre and London's National Gallery. The main focus falls on the restoration and grand re-opening of the magnificent Kunstkammer rooms. But, while they are aware of the priceless allure of Hapsburg grandeur, the museum administrators also recognise the part that marketing has to play, while remaining keen to enhance the visitor experience and ensure that the art and artefacts on display retain a central role in Austria's cultural life. To this end, considerable effort is expended on preservation, and the sequences detailing the cleaning of a painting, the hunting of ravenous beetles and the intricate repair of a clockwork galleon are as compelling as the staff meeting exposing hierarchical snobbery and the farewell party for a long-serving curator. Sumptuously photographed, but never "infomercialised", this is Direct Cinema par excellence.