Three of New York City’s largest institutions became documentary subjects this year, bringing their distinct value and significance into focus for audiences everywhere.

Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, Obit, and Ex Libris: The New York Public Library all focus on different institutions based in New York City. The documentaries center on a family-owned bank, obituary writers at the New York Times, and the entire New York Public Library system, respectively.

Each documentary takes a distinctly different approach to its subject, but they all share an interest in organizations that are meant to function as a public good. Banks should protect and hold the public’s money. Newspapers should provide the public with correct and up-to-date information and news. The public library should serve as community centers with access to important information and services.

What makes these documentaries so compelling is the way they are able to depict the strategies the organizations implement and the struggles they endure in order to provide services to public.

‘Abacus: Small Enough to Jail’

Directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams), Abacus: Small Enough to Jail follows the behind-the-scenes story of a small family-owned bank based in the New York City’s Chinatown community. Following the 2008 financial crisis, Abacus was the only bank in the entire United States to face criminal charges.

James assumes the responsibility telling the Sung family’s story including the bank’s history and cultural significance, the details of the court case itself, and the implications of the case within the broader context of the financial crisis. It’s a hefty task that James tackles with a cool assuredness. Over the course of 90 minutes, the film develops all the necessary elements while striking a deep emotional chord.

The Sung family exhibits a remarkable level of intimacy and emotional vulnerability throughout the film, making it clear that James was able to develop a close relationship with them during the making of the film. This vulnerability heightens the film’s critique of the banking and legal system, emphasizing the absurdity of putting a small family-run bank on trial as major multi-national banks go on untried.

Under James’ direction, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail becomes far more than a fight for survival; it’s an indictment of the American legal and banking systems that are more interested in taking advantage of the public than protecting their rights.

‘Obit’

Directed by Vanessa Gould, Obit follows the obituary writers at the New York Times, shining a light on a section of the newspaper that rarely stands in the spotlight. It’s a fascinating look behind the pages of the newspaper at the people tasked with examining and articulating the details and accomplishments of someone’s life after they die.

Obit occurs at a really nuanced juncture; as a form of news, obituaries are a public good meant to inform the audience of accurate and important information. At the same time, as the subjects of the documentary explain at length, there is a certain deftness and artfulness to the process of writing obituaries.

Gould’s primary interest in Obit is to give the authors of these obituaries a voice outside their work; the audience listens to them explain the process and pressures that go into every publication. Like Abacus, Obit seeks to contextualize the specific work and legacy of the institution within a broader context. Obit is concerned with how we as a society choose to celebrate and document the lives of those who have died.

The documentary is intent on demonstrating why this work is so important. At a time when everyone has a Facebook page or Wikipedia entry, the details of someone’s life are readily available online at all times. But obituaries, particularly those written for and published in the New York Times, are meant to bestow certain significance upon the subject and provide the public with a critical voice and perspective.

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

From esteemed documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman comes a three and a half hour epic centering on the New York Public Library. It’s a remarkable achievement, but one that audiences may shy away from due to its length. Unlike both Abacus and Obit, the subject of the documentary cannot be reduced to a small group of individuals; the New York Public Library is a massive tree with roots that stretch back as far as the mid-1800s with branches that continue to grow and expand today.

The style of Ex Libris is also much different than Abacus and Obit. Rather than interview the subjects, Ex Libris just watches. Wiseman films and edits together a huge variety of academic lectures, musical performances, board meetings, book readings, after-school activities, and more.

In the process, Ex Libris subtly interrogates and examines the goods and services that the public library provides without ever asking someone to speak directly into the camera. This is a hallmark of Wiseman’s style, but it’s especially suited to the subject.

Like a chameleon assuming the color of its surroundings, Ex Libris becomes a kind of library all its own. Playing out over a whopping 197 minutes, the documentary feels akin to a long walk through a library, giving us an intimate look into all the different things a library can be and the struggles it faces in the process.

Like both the family-owned bank on trial against the government and the increasingly obsolete obituaries, the public library is an institution that struggles with continuing the service of its public good in the face of a changing world.

The style, substance, and tone of these three documentaries are all quite different, but the characteristics that they share – a home in New York City and the objective of providing the public with a necessary and important service – bond them in a unique way. Together, they form a triptych that reveals how our institutions – both brand new and centuries old – struggle to remain relevant and prosperous amid the passage of time.