Belfast, Maine

Streaming video - 1999

BELFAST, MAINE is a film about ordinary experience in a beautiful old New England port city. It is a portrait of daily life with particular emphasis on the work and the cultural life of the community.. Among the activities shown in the film are the work of lobstermen, tug-boat operators, factory workers, shop owners, city counselors, doctors, judges, policemen, teachers, social workers, nurses and ministers. Cultural activities include choir rehearsal, dance class, music lessons and theatre production.. "If Wiseman were a painter, he’d be a pointillist. He groups tiny daubs of color together, working meticulously across a wide canvas. It’s only when you stand back that you see a massive mural taking shape — a mural that tells the... story of a town, a society, a whole species." – Matt Zoller Seitz, Newark Star Ledger. "BELFAST, MAINE…conveys a deeply emotional sense of place, season and time of day. In contrasting the breathtaking landscape with the troubled lives of many of those living there, it reminds us that the fleeting beauties of the natural world — the simple pleasures available to all — are among life’s deepest consolation." – Stephen Holden, The New York Times more