State Legislature

Join us for the new 4K restoration of Frederick Wiseman’s close-up look at political process in a Republican stronghold: the Idaho Legislature.

The Idaho Legislature is hiding in plain sight. Discussions and debates are public record, but without an inquisitive mind, that process can be a mystery to anyone outside the state.

Director Frederick Wiseman is that inquisitive mind, observing the 2004 sitting of the Idaho Legislature. Filmed over three months from January to early April, State Legislature follows the full sitting period of the upper and lower houses.

Issues tabled include identifying imported cows during a mad cow disease outbreak and clarifying whether sexual “pranksters” can be spared from the sex offender register. In a state where a majority of constituents and representatives oppose government intervention, any push for change is a swim upstream.