Central Park

The US filmmaker Wiseman described his portraits of US institutions (in both the literal and figurative sense), such as psychiatric hospitals, schools, hospitals, a Benedictine monastery, a ballet company and even the Jackson Heights neighborhood as "cultural spoors". He saw these organizational forms as microcosms, in which larger segments of society (in the US) were reflected. This was also true New York’s Central Park in summer, which in this film he portrayed with a comparatively light and cheerful tone as an inviting setting for urban vitality. In a seemingly offhand manner, he describes the broad spectrum of the urban park’s users, depicting those seeking to relax, others painting on Sundays, dance groups, amateur ornithologists, dinosaur impersonators, musicians, gardeners and the park’s administrative staff. It is a tribute to the city’s green heart. (mg)