This documentary of P. K. Nair, India's pioneering film archivist who toiled passionately from 1965 to 1991 to preserve literally thousands of old films that others were letting disappear, is also a real love affair with cinema. Nair is revered to the point of near hero worship early on by all those interviewed, but as the story unfolds, we see the reason - his deep love of Indian and international cinema, meticulous record keeping, and careful archival of films that would otherwise be completely lost. Included in this was his wisdom of not passing judgment and preserving only "important" films, realizing that with time, little bits of "lesser" films held great value, and were also an important part of the cultural heritage.
One gets the sense that this guy would have made a hell of a Letterboxd film reviewer, and been right at home conversing with film enthusiasts on this site. There was such a sense of fraternity with other institutes around the world, he introduced students to films from around the world, and fostered their study of famous directors. It was also cool to see his efforts result in peasant farmers seeing classic films and appreciating them. The documentary is not about legendary films and filmmakers per se, and it respects the viewer's intelligence relative to its many references, or the ability of the viewer to use it as a springboard to look them up as needed (which was me, pretty far behind in my knowledge of Indian cinema).
While Nair is shown in a positive light, and deservedly so, the documentary takes a few unexpected turns along the way. At one point, he's asked point blank whether he steals films, that is, makes bootleg copies. He answers patiently in the affirmative - it wasn't to pirate them or gain financially, but he made a habit of copying films that came in to his institute, and believes archivists should be exempt from copyright laws. We also hear about his lack of attention to his family as his children grew up, as his love for cinema was all-consuming, and he would regularly spend entire nights at work. Lastly, we hear some of the friction with those running the institute after he retired, because in his view, they weren't being careful enough with dust and humidity and so forth, and they chafed at the feedback.
It was all very interesting, though the path it took over its 156 minutes was a little meandering, and it felt like some bits were repetitive and could have been trimmed. Great stuff though, especially if you like old films.
