The Booksellers

One if these documentaries that can be quite fascinating one moment then quite dull the next. So, for me, a mixed bag here.

Gives an inside look at the seldom seen world of antique booksellers and collectors in NYC.. The film also offers a little more optimism about the field being carried on by out younger generation, although the modalities will be most different.

For those viewers that can get through the, at tines, stodginess, the doc does offer some good rewards.

The rare book world to some seems like an impenetrable mystery filled with expensive volumes, well-heeled buyers, and unapproachable and quixotic sellers brimming with disdain for the uninitiated. In fact, it is a very vibrant and welcoming world with a fabulous range of interesting material, many affordable rarities to delight, and down-to-earth dealers that are thrilled with new collectors whose interest they can cultivate. As such, this is a rare and important movie for it opens up that unique world to a broader audience. If you are curious about this movie, your soul already gravitates towards literature and history, but you may not know how easy it is to hold treasures in one's hand and connect on such an intimate level with great authors and events of the past. The movie is a tribute not only to the love affair of the printed word, but to the people who seek it out, catalog it, contextualize it, and make it available to libraries and collectors. The movie also deserves great credit for highlighting women and minorities (among others) and the importance of the growing inclusiveness in the rare book world in terms of collecting and preserving their narratives and helping assemble the first hand material that will help tell many untold stories.

A glimpse into the world of book collectors with perspective from different collectors. Jumps around a bit too much from collector to collector instead of focusing on the history of book collecting and staying on point to tell a story. Comes across a bit dull at times in story telling and it seems like there are some missed opportunities to dive into each collectors unique personality. The documentary is at its strongest when talking about where the hobby has been and where it is headed.

What Truman Capote did for non-fiction - imposing a narrative tone and form on works that had mostly been a recording of facts - films like "Hoop Dreams," or "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" or "Grizzly Man," did for documentaries; i.e., they raised the bar and imposed a narrative structure on the material. Unfortunately, as fascinating as the world of rare book dealers may be, The Booksellers seemed disorganized, often confusing without any real narrative thread. While people may recognize Gay Talese or Fran Leibowitz, people are often interviewed with no caption telling us who they are, what their job title is, and these people were, for the most part, not very interesting. The profession might attract unusual people, but the film doesn't have the "Herzog" - that skill at highlighting those idiosyncrasies in the subjects that make a documentary especially watchable.

This is one of those wonderful films about a small niche with a dedicated group of adherents. It won't be for everyone, but if you are a book lover you will probably appreciate this.

But there was more than just dusty books. There was insight into the business, there was insight into collectors, and there were some wonderful segments about people whose own interests drove them to assemble items around fascinating topics that have real value beyond just monetary mathematics. There are real cultural subsets that deserved to have someone collect the pieces and preserve them for the future.

And I could look at bookshelves all day long.

I found it was a lovely change of pace and a treat to an unusual subject.