The table is set for Oscar shortlist voting to begin on Thursday.
Fred Wiseman:I first heard about them in the summer of 2020.
And I wanted to thank them for putting me up for a month.
César Troisgros, at right, in ‘Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros’Zipporah Films
And I hadnt thought about it at all.
He said, let me talk to my father.
And he came back about a half an hour later and said, Why not?
‘Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros’Zipporah Films
But what Cesar had done was look me up in Wikipedia.
I gather he liked what he read.
DEADLINE: I read that you had wanted to do a documentary about a restaurant for some time.
FW:It was on my life wish list, but I hadnt approached any restaurant.
DEADLINE: Why did the environment of a restaurant intrigue you?
DEADLINE: Your work is often reduced to the thumbnail description of, He makes documentaries about institutions.
I like how Manohla Dargis, the New York Times film critic, put it in her review ofMenus-Plaisirs.
She reframed the nature of your work as looking atorganizations, and people moving through them.
FW:Yes, thats a good characterization.
I mean, I have no precise definition of institution, or organization.
DEADLINE: Its delightful.
DEADLINE: But in terms of the movements within the kitchen, it is years and years of process.
There are young people in there too, being integrated into this organization.
Its like, how does this thing work?
How do they not collide with each other?
How does somebody not wind up with a knife in their side by accident?
Theyre agile and they quickly get adapted to the routine.
I was very conscious when I was editing of cutting on movement and on their movement.
DEADLINE: You dont use a musical score in the film.
Bit by bit, putting it together.
Piece by piece… the art of making art.
Meaning as it should be.
There is a proper way to do things.
FW:Right, exactly.
Theres a proper way to do it.
FW:The Troisgros family is very precise in what they want.
It is an art form.
But what they create is beautiful, not only to the taste, but to the look.
Owner Michel looks at each plate before it leaves the kitchen for the dining room.
DEADLINE: You capture an interesting detail the guy wearing white gloves to set the table.
Im not sure too many Americans would think to put on gloves to do that.
But who wants to have a fingerprint on their wine glass?
FW:They pay attention to every detail, and they have a long tradition.
That is some achievement.
To maintain that high quality of food for all that time, its a remarkable feat.
I dont know how you do it because it reveals something that other filmmakers just simply wouldnt capture.
Im curious about your thoughts behind the camera as youre shooting.
Are you at times saying to yourself, Ah, this is a fantastic shot?
You have to take into account what else is going on.
You have to take into account not interfering with the [restaurant] work.
You have to move extremely fast and make decisions.
DEADLINE: I wonder from your point of view, what people typically get wrong about your films.
I think one of them is describing you as a verite filmmaker.
Hes fly on the wall, which is not really what youre doing.
Im satisfied with saying I make movies.
I dont like observational cinema because its too passive a phrase.
Because youre not just sitting in a corner shooting whats going on.
Youre moving around all the time.
For my movies, were movingallthe time.
Or in your soup.
FW:Fly on the wall is such a condescending expression.
I havent met any flies that were conscious.
And thats a bit more aware than a fly.
To what degree, at this stage of your career, do you pay much attention to awards?
How meaningful are they to you?
FW:Of course, I like it if a group of critics respond to the film that way.
Its nice that the work is recognized, and that people see it.
