Museum Hours

It's tempting to throw around the phrase "work of art" when discussing Jem Cohen's 2012 feature film 'Museum Hours,' but considering it's still relatively new, that sort of praise is in stark contrast to the museum and the centuries-old paintings, which serve as the movie's primary focal point. And yet with its eschewing of a familiar narrative or plot, and its carefully measured, often poignant understanding of how moments of quiet reserve fill our time between significant events, the film is as close to being an actual work of art, as it will likely ever get.

An exploration of humanity through art, and the initially arbitrary interest in the lives of others that turn genuine in sometimes unexpected, and yet wholly organic and engrossing ways, 'Museum Hours' concerns Johann (Bobby Sommer), a contemplative security guard at Vienna's splendid Kunsthistorisches Art Museum, who befriends Anne (Mary Margaret O'Hara), a woman who suddenly finds herself in a country she's never been to before because her name was found in the address book of a cousin lying comatose there. When not at the hospital, Anne fills her days by wandering around the relative comfort and safety of the museum, until Johann takes notice of her, and with his competent grasp on the English language, offers to speak with the doctors on Anne's behalf. From there, a relationship blossoms, but not the kind that anyone would have expected. Platonic and chaste, but tender and giving, Johann and Anne form a bond that serves as the framework for Cohen's film that's as much about being still, being quiet, becoming small, unnoticeable and just watching the myriad details of the world, as it is about two people finding one another at the exact moment they needed to.

Although the burgeoning friendship between Johann and Anne is at the center of 'Museum Hours,' there isn't necessarily a structure built up around their encounters. Initially (and through voiceover), Johann manages to secure Anne a pass to the museum, as a way of allowing her some sanctuary in the foreign city she finds herself in, and for them to keep in contact, should anything happen with regard to her cousin. But as the days pass (though time feels inconsequential in this film), Johann and Anne soon find they're spending as much time exploring the streets of Vienna, as they are the quiet, meditative works adorning the walls of the Kunsthistoriches Art Museum. And though Johann must find attractions that are both stimulating and cheap (neither he nor Anne have much money), their exploration of the world and its inhabitants begin to showcase their surroundings in a manner that lifts them from the prosaic to poignant with surprising ease.

Cohen presents these outings in the kind of places you might imagine: dimly lit pubs, where the liveliness of the patrons elevates the sometimes-grey atmosphere, street corners dusted with falling snow, and then in a town square seemingly littered with discarded belongings, that is really just an approximation of a flea market, or garage sale. There are boxes filled with old magazines and newspapers, bits of clothing and worn trinkets; it all seems like junk, but through Cohen's thoughtful eye, these collections of old things ask the question: What is considered valuable and what is thought if as trash? And while the audience is asked to contemplate that, Johann finds himself remembering what Vienna used to mean to him, by showing it to someone new.

But the surprising star of 'Museum Hours' isn't Vienna, or even Johann or Anne; it's the works of 16th century painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder and their clever amassing of seemingly mundane detail that is easily looked over at a glance, but given some time and the right frame of mind, they reveal new riches on subsequent viewings. Early on in the film, Johann remarks at the longevity of Bruegel's works, by recalling the first time he noticed something as unexciting as eggs tucked away in one of the images, and soon found other paintings contained eggs as well – which instilled in him a desire to look at these familiar canvases in a whole new light.

Like Bruegel's paintings, Cohen's lens takes pleasure in the seemingly inconsequential details of everyday life, but by focusing on them, he makes them wholly unique in their own regard and, more importantly, demonstrates why the are worthy of his film's attention. This conceit is brought to life during a surprisingly talkative moment when a lecturer (Ela Piplets) is questioned by a man about her interpretation of one of Bruegel's works, of which she states the point of interest is not necessarily the small portion of the image from which it gets its title. The man's infuriating literal mindedness that a title instantly and permanently denotes the intentional focus and sole point of interest of a work of art purposefully expounds on the efficacy of Cohen's work within the context of his own film. The cleverness of this encounter, of course, is to point out how 'Museum Hours' is such a build-up of seemingly minute details that even its own point of interest can be easily questioned. Is it the friendly, pleasant, almost romance of Johann and Anne? Is it Vienna itself? Or is it the Kunsthistoriches Art Museum, the treasures it houses and the people who walk its halls to gaze endlessly at them?

Thankfully, it never does say, but ultimately, it feels as though 'Museum Hours' is content to be a celebration of the simplicity of life and the joy in finding the simplicity of the world around us.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Museum Hours' comes from Cinema Guild as a single 50GB Blu-ray disc in the standard keepcase. Along with the film, there is a booklet featuring essays from Luc Sante and writer-director Jem Cohen.