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Netherlands · 2008
2h 0m
Director Oeke Hoogendijk
Starring
Genre Documentary
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Beginning in 2003, this film chronicles the large-scale renovation of the world famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam over a ten year period. It follows the two Spanish architects, Cruz and Ortiz, who designed a pioneering museum concept, as well as all the obstacles the construction faced from politicians, designers, and curators.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
The film dwells on the logistical and bureaucratic details of the process, and if it does not exactly write a fresh chapter in the history of art, it stands as an exemplary study in the sociology of art administration.
A guided tour of a struggle.
Chicago Sun-Times by Bill Stamets
Hoogendijk is a guest with more tact than curiosity about why a three-year plan went so over schedule.
New York Post by Farran Smith Nehme
Hoogendijk ends the movie just before the museum reopens; but her last, soaring image is a stirring vision of what made all the agita worthwhile.
Los Angeles Times by Martin Tsai
If nothing else, patience has rewarded Hoogendijk and moviegoers with an inside look at an art administration without common sense.
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
Artful yet agonizingly unhurried at times.
Slant Magazine by Nick McCarthy
It most potently strikes the tone of an elegy, pensively observing that beneath the bickering in museum boardrooms lies a massive treasure trove of art history that's being kept from the public's eye.
While the movie isn’t a consistently riveting four hours, Hoogendijk does keep finding images and moments that demystify the museum business while making the art seem all the more magical.
Hoogendijk has created an artifact that, while not exactly elegant, 400 years hence may prove as vital a window into Amsterdam culture as any of the Dutch masterpieces hanging in the museum itself.
RogerEbert.com by Steven Boone
The New Rijksmuseum is a four hour procession of minute details, an exhaustive catalogue of art world diplomacy and process, but what sticks is the way Hoigendijk weaves all the strands together, crosscutting here, overlapping there.
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