The A.V. Club
Even by the heavily multicultural standards of New York City, Jackson Heights, a neighborhood in the northwest part of Queens, boasts a truly remarkable degree of ethnic diversity. Reportedly, 167 languages are spoken there, though only a few of them are heard and subtitled in Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary, In Jackson Heights. This is another of Wiseman’s occasional docs focusing on a location rather than an institution—previous examples include Belfast, Maine (1999), Aspen (1991), and Central Park (1990)—and there’s little doubt that he was drawn to the neighborhood precisely because it offers such a wealth of disparate nationalities, cultures, and viewpoints.
Variety: When taken as a whole, Frederick Wiseman’s U.S.-set documentaries are a celebration of sorts of sloppy American democracy in action: The system may be flawed at the top, but its grassroots pugnacity is consistently admired from the director’s iconic, unobtrusive viewpoint. Jackson Heights is a multiethnic neighborhood in Queens, and “In Jackson Heights” is a classic example of Wiseman’s affinity for this type of subject, full of community organizers and advocacy meetings in which citizens and aspiring citizens learn to use their civic voices. In truth, the camera lingers longer than necessary in these gatherings, but the film has rewards on the macro and micro levels, sure to delight the helmer’s devoted fans.
