‘The Gates’ ** 1/2
This is the sixth film Albert Maysles has worked on documenting a massive temporary project by the artist Christo and his collaborator-wife Jeanne-Claude. All have the same trajectory: fierce initial opposition, arduous protracted negotiation, eventual installation, general rejoicing. Each project was, of course, different, and over the last 30 years they became increasingly beautiful, a condition registering even if seen only in the books or films that represent their final stage and outlast them. So anyone with an interest in contemporary art on a heroic scale should find Christo’s practice fascinating. But anyone who has seen the earlier documentaries may also find attention wandering except during lyrical, largely wordless sequences that capture the finished piece from different angles at different times of day under different weather conditions.
The more-than-$20 million project, which was paid for entirely by the artists, installed for 16 days more than 7,500 gates with fabric panels on 23 miles of walkways in New York’s Central Park. Christo and Jeanne-Claude proposed it in 1979, but because of public and political resistance it was not realized until February 2005. The film records aspects of the entire process, with generous — perhaps too generous — representation given to reactions of ordinary people. By the end, scarcely is heard a discouraging word, and even an apparent homeless person reveals astonishing connoisseurship. The best part of the film is, however, devoted to sustained observation of the work itself, which forces viewers to a degree of scrutiny uncommon at even our art museums. Running time: 1:38. Opens Nov. 2 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave. 773-871-6604.
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**** EXCELLENT
*** GOOD
** FAIR
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