The thin-faced man picked up the phone and replied cheerfully, “Hi, Bookstore!”
His name is Matt Tannenbaum, and he’s the sole owner of The Bookstore in Lennox, Mass., a job he’s held for 45 years.
With similar appeal, he talks about how he came to take over the store, his love of reading, and hilarious little anecdotes about the people he met.
Then the pandemic hit.
The bookstore, still recovering from the shocks Amazon and Kindle have inflicted on other literary retailers, must train itself against even bigger shocks.
“Hello, Bookstore” is neither a good movie nor a great documentary. Still, it’s an interesting diversion, like stopping at such a bookstore on a long cross-country trip. It certainly reminds me of many such visits to bookstores across the Eastern half of Canada and the United States.
Our father told us, “there’s always time for books,” and made sure we stocked up on them, both at home and on the road.
As a result, I can’t walk into a second-hand bookstore without a sense of nostalgia, taking me back upstairs to the RV family home, on a beach or atop the rocks near our campsite, enjoy any paperback I just bought.
A lot of emotions come flooding back when watching the movie. Without a doubt, many viewers will have a similar reaction.
“Hello, Bookstore” is a documentary about an independent bookstore’s battle to survive the pandemic.
AB Zax director and store owner Matthew Tannenbaum spoke with @joefryer above #MorningNewsNow.https://t.co/U4UZMHn7bF pic.twitter.com/Gk53eEn1LK
– NBC News NOW (@NBCNewsNow) April 29, 2022
The movie rarely goes outside of the bookstore, and even if we did, we wouldn’t feel anything for the neighborhood. All the same, an unmistakable sense of community emerges.
Tannenbaum loves his books but also loves the people who come, and that feeling is reciprocated by his customers. Even in the height of Covid, he kept his spirit to fulfill phone orders, continuing the same warm tone as everyone else.
Ultimately, the film isn’t about how bookstores or other small businesses struggle during the pandemic, but rather the profile of a warm-hearted man who has maintained his composure. themselves during times of great stress.
Unfortunately, there is a loophole in “Hello, Bookstore” that may hinder some viewers’ enjoyment. Even given that The Bookstore is located in one of the greenest areas of the greenest state in the greenest part of the country, the movie tries to remind us of this.
The camera lovingly captures books by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jason Stanley, and even a row of children’s books by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Director AB Zax regularly balances the frame with the Bernie Sanders window sign, and does it several times making it comical.
Most annoying is how a few photos focus on Donald Trump’s toilet roll next to the door, as vulgar and childish as the former President himself.
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None of these shots aside from the smug virtue signal to like-minded viewers. Some of them are even featured in the film’s trailers, sending an unmistakable message of exclusion that goes against The Bookstore’s mission and contradicts the broader themes of community and openness that the film tries to convey.
If you don’t share our politics, don’t visit our store, and while we’re at it, don’t watch our movies either. Republicans also read books.
They also watch movies.
AA Kidd is a professional college lecturer in Canada who takes pride in volunteering for Windsor International Film Festival. He appreciates classic movies, hard science fiction, and bad wordplay.
