Even without a voice-over, the 207 minute running time here doesn’t feel punishing at all…it’s Wiseman’s intent that makes Ex Libris so compelling…

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 13, 2023

An extraordinary portrait of the institution in the present time and looking towards the future. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 18, 2020

In one of Wiseman's finest modern works, we are reminded of the democratic nature of libraries, and how all religions, political ideas, races and classes are represented on equal footing within.

| May 14, 2020

...Wiseman captures the variety of people who use the library, and the variety of purposes it serves in the life of the city.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 31, 2019

More than a building full of books.

| Jun 29, 2019

A documentary about a library that's longer than Titanic is never going to be a major hit. But what Wiseman achieves here is both beautiful and extraordinary."

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 4, 2019

A picaresque tour of the grandest people's palace of all: the New York Public Library system.

| Apr 1, 2019

Utilizing his tried and true observational style and free flowing durational scope, Wiseman demonstrates just how pivotal libraries remain as cultural touchstones and access points for all human knowledge.

| Dec 5, 2018

Wiseman allows ample space for discovery and digression, and over the course of 197 mostly compelling minutes, disconnected vignettes shot at various branches of the NYPL gradually form into a portrait of a community.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 29, 2018

It is through his choices that we get a glimpse into the invisible director's mind and values as he subtly evinces what is important in the world.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 17, 2018

What jumps out is how well it shows what really motivated public service looks like.

| Sep 26, 2018

An epic documentary that feels consistently intimate. Clocking in at over three hours but passing by in a flash, the film seamlessly drifts from one intimate conversation to another.

| Aug 20, 2018

Feels vibrantly alive and vital throughout; quietly political in the way it champions intellectualism and public institutions, Ex Libris is anything but boring.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 31, 2018

Like the library system, Wiseman is growing with the times, and he's not lamenting the expansion of digital content in lieu of the printed page but applies his trained eye to a new era that begets the development of knowledge.

| Jul 13, 2018

Hypnotic and illuminating.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 13, 2018

For the last half-century, Wiseman has never stopped looking outward. But this could be his unwitting self-portrait.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 12, 2018

Nonetheless, this is a fascinating and painstaking piece of work which provides an extraordinarily thorough picture of its subject.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 11, 2018

If only all study sessions were as enchanting as this.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 11, 2018

A film that makes you marvel anew at a beloved landmark that is committed to education and the nurturing of passion.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 9, 2018

The film celebrates the NYPL as a vital service for the city and local branch-catering neighborhoods as a space for education, culture, and community.

| Feb 9, 2018