State Legislature

In the US state of Idaho, the legislature consists not of career politicians, but citizen legislators, who meet for only three months a year. The rest of the time, as the Speaker of the House of Representatives explains in the opening scene of this now-classic film, they are ordinary citizens like everyone else, and they have to live with the policies they themselves have created.

Frederick Wiseman and his crew were present throughout the entire 2004 session. They recorded some 160 hours of material, which has been distilled into a patient documentary capturing committee discussions, senate votes, and conversations in the corridors.

The political mood in 2004 feels far less intense than the hype-driven politics of today. From a contemporary perspective, the calmness of this democratic process feels like a breath of fresh air, even though there are still plenty of problems to deal with—lobbyists exert pressure, and prejudice and religious beliefs repeatedly stand in the way of balanced policymaking. Without judgment or commentary, State Legislature demonstrates the achievements, values, constraints and limitations of the democratic process.