The Booksellers
Despite many predictions of their demise, books continue to be read and booksellers, as least until the pandemic, were flourishing for their connection to community and the physical world.
The Booksellers (Kino Lorber)
The future looked grim for independent bookshops. First came big box bookstores, then Amazon promised to deliver books anywhere, then Kindle threatened to replace paper with pixels. The Great Recession promised the final stroke, but indie bookstores have bounced back, offering community and a physical experience parallel to the vinyl revival.
The Booksellers pauses to mourn the passing of novelists as stars and books as central to culture. But it also shows the stubborn persistence of a medium that has endured for 2,000 years—1,900 more than most digital programs. With photographer Fran Leibowitz as the celebrity talking head, the documentary focuses on a gaggle of dealers and collectors. The beauty of books as artifacts is acknowledged, as is the persistence of book knowledge. They’re harder to alter or delete than anything online. Leibowitz observes that on the New York subway, only older Boomers read on Kindle. The kids have books.
“Star Trek Short Treks” (CBS Home Entertainment)
The Star Trek universe continues to expand. “Short Treks” collects nine episodes of what producer Alex Kurtzman describes as “stand-alone short stories” relating to the “Discovery” series. New things are tried. Two episodes are animated. Standouts include “Runaway” with a pushy mom checking in via hologram and a prissy espresso-machine warning that a second cup is “ill-advised.” Written by novelist Michael Chabon, “Calypso” is a visually, conceptually brilliant examination of disembodied romance and eroticism.
L’important c’est d’Aimer… (Film Movement)
“You’re getting paid for it!” snarls the director at Nadine (Romy Schneider), an actress whose impressive past has been reduced to a sordid present in cheap splatter flicks. Sullen photographer Servais (Fabio Testi), who works the seamy side of pictures, is in love and secretly finances a stage role for Nadine under a maniacal impresario (Klaus Kinski). The 1975 film by Polish refugee Andrzej Zulawski is melodrama exploring the melodramatic emotionalism of high-strung artists and lovers.
