Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

Difficult times, those in which intelligence and critical thinking are not encouraged, but are rather the reasons for ridicule and derision. Times in which societies are atomised and extremes triumph in the face of the overwhelming uncertainty of the majority. While the world is on its way to an anticipated horror, the master Frederick Wiseman, at 88 years of age, reminds us that there is a meeting space, close and accessible, where knowledge is still celebrated: the public library. Offering us a walk through different spaces in the Public Library of New York, Ex Libris not only superbly praises knowledge and the right to be well-informed, but is also a forceful manifesto about the need to meet with one another out in the community: be it for reading García Márquez together, for learning a new language online or supporting a neighbourhood project. This work, winner of the Venice Critics’ Award, offers a simple portrayal of the daily rhythm of those public spaces that are the foundation of a forgotten democracy: in libraries, we are all welcome. As in his previous film, In Jackson Heights (Filmadrid 2016), we meet again with a Wiseman who confirms for us his true faith in people. Undoubtedly, a masterpiece of our times. FERNANDO VÍLCHEZ