Welfare
Frederick Wiseman, 1975, 167 min

Unfolding like a Kafka-esque novel, this remarkable, clear-sighted film reveals the absurdities of New York’s welfare system from the point of view of the staff administering it and the claimants attempting to access it. Deeply serious yet playful in parts, Welfare reveals the myriad reasons why people seek help and the complex tangle of regulations that frequently deny it.

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Screening as part of our Close-Up on Frederick Wiseman