A Última Loja de Consertos

This is quite an engaging documentary that introduces us to four specialist technicians who maintain some of the musical instruments that are provided free to pupils in the Los Angeles school system. Prefaced by a few words from each of the children who benefit from the violins, tubas, pianos and saxophones to name but a few, we then meet four of the people - from a variety of interesting, sometimes quite traumatic, backgrounds - as they show us just how meticulously they work to keep these instruments alive and useful. To be honest, I could have been doing with just a little more performance from the would-be students, but these characters who put their heart and soul into preserving these musical tools come across as dedicated and passionate. The same can be said for the students - especially the young violinist at the start whose smile just about says it all. We end with a rousing section from the alumni of students who have benefitted over the years and this is a fine testament to the role of music in an education system that doesn't just focus on the academic.

Every once in a while, you need a movie like Kris Bowers & Ben Proudfoot's "The Last Repair Shop" to make you feel good about the world we live in. It's a reminder of the many stories we all have of ourselves that eventually shape us to be who we are and how these stories can go on to make an impact on the lives of those we wouldn't even know.

With some crisp and striking cinematography, and an array of stories; each interesting and each heartfelt, the movie documents the people behind the only remaining repair shop that fixes musical instruments for its public school students at no cost. Contributing to the dreams of more than 80,000 students, and now inspiring an audience with their passion for what they do, the craftsmen at "The Last Repair Shop" make this documentary short film one of the year's finest.

It is a film as useful kick to hope. Maybe, in some measure, to forms of joy.

Four people, fixing musical instruments of students, offer their stories.

Few young musicians confesse their strong connection with their instrument.

In Los Angeles , a repair shop, maybe the last, offering, from 1959, the support for good fonction of musical instruments.

Not the story itself is real significant, but the state inspired by the words of this people. Because it is a sort of return to the comfort of survive, in almost brave manner, of a stable old world , defined by dedication and by passion and personal dramas and careful gestures and empathy.

Beautiful documentary, no doubts. But, first, profound useful.

I cannot stress enough the value of watching this moving Documentary. As another user said, "not nearly long enough." It left me wanting more for sure- is a good way. Wonderfully written, shot, & edited. And the sound! Using the kids in the score recording was genius. You will not be sorry you spent the time. The experience helps remind you people have stories and are worth spending the time to listen & learn about. Music is such an important part of our lives. In so many unique and various ways sound touches us all. Whether you play or just listen- even if you play for your own pleasure or professionally, or casually listen or you're a diehard hard fan, music moves you.

"The Last Repair Shop" is a poem in prose, a hymn to memory and resistance against the tyranny of disposability. It is an invitation to celebrate the beauty of what was created with love, to listen to the stories that old objects have to tell.

At the end of the journey, we are touched by a sweet melancholy and a deep gratitude. Melancholy for the loss of a world where objects were valued and repaired, and gratitude for finding, amidst the fast pace of modern life, a haven where time slows down and memory finds shelter.

May this film inspire in each of us a passion for preservation, respect for the past, and the search for beauty in simple things. May we all be guardians of time, restoring not only objects, but also the memories that reside within them.