I read it as like a “police procedural”, which is a film that prioritizes the actual procedure of police work over big themes, character development, and action

I read it as like a “police procedural”, which is a film that prioritizes the actual procedure of police work over big themes, character development, and action. In this case—-it delves into processes, artistic and bureaucratic. There are “big themes” but there are also odd scenes where bureaucrats discuss the need for cataloging organs, and artists discuss the viability of doing an autopsy as art. In this quote I read “pedantic” as simply meaning focused on the details, really just a reinforcement of the “process” assertion.