I’m a Wisemen fa-an (why do I hear Susan Sarandon in I Can Make You a Man when I say this line?). Okay I’ve only seen two but I loved Menus-Plaisirs so much that I think I would like anything Frederick Wiseman makes.

This one is from 1981 and is black and white and, at only two hours long, is practically a short film. Wiseman style is to present a subject in great detail with no narration or overt context. In Menus-Plaisirs, it was a Michelin starred restaurant in France. With Model, he is looking at the life and industry of models in New York in the 70s and 80s.

 Wiseman‘s camera always feels like an unobtrusive character in the room. We watch models, both male and female, turning up to the Zolli modelling agency with their portfolios, hoping to be taken on. The first gatekeeper looks through their photos and gives advice on what kind of modelling they will be suitable for and what other photographs they need. This is where we start to see the difference between expectations for men and women and also how arbitrary some of the parameters can be.

We see multiple facets of a pantyhose ad being made. The male director is exasperated when the female model can’t skip down the steps of a building and pause at the right moment, for the right number of microseconds and with the right foot placement. Everything is low tech with composite images needing to be filmed in succession and models expected to be uncomplaining.

With the male models, their job seems to be to look sturdy and resolute in front of the camera without much expression. The women are a contrast as they are constantly shifting pose and expression, moving swiftly from coquettish to sultry to stern.

There are also those great Wiseman moments where we see what is going on in the streets around – the racks of garments being delivered to shops, the older ladies dressed up as if it’s the 50s watching on as the commercial is made.

In a scene toward the end of a runway show, you can see a young Jerry Hall amongst the gaggle of women (and see her star power). This is one of the few times when there are models of colour, something that seems to stand out as we watch from more than four decades in the future.