Carmine Street Guitars
Director:
Ron Mann
Year: 2018
Rating: 7.5
This seems like an odd idea for a documentary - a small subject in a way
- one that doesn't have much of an impact on the world - but it is rather
wonderful. On Carmine Street in Greenwich Village there is this small narrow
guitar shop that I must have passed a hundred times without making note of
it and inside this shop guitars are made by hand and sold. Beautiful guitars
with a beautiful sound. The owner is a fellow named Rick Kelly (who along
with his young female assistant) has been making these guitars for decades
from old wood taken from 19th century buildings that are being torn down.
Every one of his guitars has a story to tell and is totally unique with a
personality that can connect with the people who come in to look. People
like Jim Jarmusch, Bill Frisell and Charlie Sexton drop by to chat, pick
up a guitar and play it. The conversations are easy going talking mainly
about guitars, which is just what you expect. You just wish you were there
too taking part in it. In a world of mass production of pretty much everything
that we touch, watching a craftsman like this was a simple pleasure.