LFF: Museum Hours

Johann appears happy in his job of attendant at Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Art Museum, content to spend his days surrounded by the precious paintings and artefacts displayed there, adopting an amiable attitude towards his colleagues while recognising he has little in common with them. He meets Anne, an enigmatic Canadian woman visiting an unfamiliar city where her cousin is ill in hospital, and the two form a bond. Johann acts as Anne’s guide to Vienna; he relishes the opportunity to share his knowledge of its art and architecture, acknowledging he is rediscovering the place himself. The latest film from renowned documentarian and film-essayist Jem Cohen (Benjamin Smoke; Chain), Museum Hours is a charming rumination on art and observation featuring strikingly beautiful images that appeared to have been captured casually and engaging, perfectly pitched performances from Bobby Sommer and Mary Margaret O’Hara as characters meeting at a crossroads in their lives. (Michael Hayden)