ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
I’ve made no secret here of my time being involved in band and music while I was in school and recently while I was searching for something to watch on Disney+, I came across a documentary that brought back some of those memories.
“The Last Repair Shop,” which clocks in at 40 minutes, focuses on a downtown Los Angeles shop where a handful of devoted craftspeople keep more than 80,000 student instruments in repair, which has been open for more than 60 years. I initially thought it would be more of a “day in the life” sort of feature and show the employees actually working on repairs and showing what a regular day in the shop looks like, but this was one of the times I was actually kind of happy to be proven wrong, because it’s SO much more than that.
One of the first things I thought while watching the movie was how EVERY school district should have the same kind of opportunity as Los Angeles, because any child interested in music or the creative arts should have the chance to express themselves in such a way. Having been involved in music myself for most of my school career, I have always been firmly of the mindset that the arts are in no way a disposable resource, and I’m so happy young children in Los Angeles have the chance to be creative.
The first employee story comes from strings expert Dana Atkinson, who has worked in the shop for multiple decades. His story about growing up and figuring himself out as a gay man in the 1970s and 1980s and how he was led to music and later on the shop has happy and sad moments and it had me on a slightly emotional rollercoaster the entire time. At one point during his segment, he talks about how the deeper issues children face can’t exactly be glued together like the instruments he works on, but the instruments can be a tool to help them deal with what they might be going through. He says something along the lines of “We know we can’t fix what’s going on with them at home, but we can at least make the instrument part as good as possible,” and it’s a very sweet and true sentiment. I’ve also always been somewhat interested in string instruments, so I also found it cool to watch the brief part of his segment that shows him actually working.
The next shop employee interview is with brass technician Paty Moreno, who’s been with the shop since 2004. She also has a great story about coming from Mexico to the U.S. and struggling to make a living before finally finding work with the L.A. school district, and like Dana’s story, there are happy and sad moments, and I was happy to see how she got her happy ending. The most heartbreaking part of her story was when she talks about how her son wanted to try the clarinet, but she couldn’t afford the rental fee, and you can tell even after all this time, that’s something she still feels some regret about. I also really liked her talking about her “treasure jar” of stuff she’s found in instruments she’s worked on, including batteries, marbles, and a small troll doll (among other items), and that made me laugh out loud.
The next (and most lighthearted) employee segment comes from the store’s woodwinds expert Duane Michaels. His stories about how he got into music and how he later got his first violin are rather amusing, but also do a great job of showing what a big impact just one instrument can have, especially on children. However, I have to admit the parts of his story that link him to such big figures as Col. Tom Parker (i.e. Elvis Presley’s manager) and Frank Sinatra, among others, certainly threw me for a loop. One of his final comments about what’s kept him going in the shop during his time there is about how he might be cleaning/fixing up an instrument for a future Grammy winner, and that made me smile.
The final employee segment comes from pianos expert/supervisor Steve Bagmanyan, and his story is definitely the most heartbreaking out of the bunch because it involves growing up in the Soviet Union and being forced to leave near the beginning of the Cold War after his father’s murder. He also recounts having to leave behind a guitar gifted from his older brother, which definitely made me shed a few tears. Like the previous stories, however, Bagmanyan’s has a happy ending as he started out as an apprentice piano tuner for his immigration sponsor before ultimately striking out on his own and starting his own work. Something that stood out to me for Bagmanyan’s segment was the instrumental score underneath, which fit the mood and emotions of the story just absolutely perfectly.
However, the documentary does not include interviews with just the shop employees, there are a few short interview moments with students from the L.A. school district who have benefited from the shop’s work, and they all reminded me of when I started out in band. My favorite of these stories was from a young saxophonist, who talks about how being in music helps her calm down and focus better – I was the exact same way when I started playing the clarinet, and after her short segment, I actually said out loud “I know EXACTLY how you feel, young lady.” The students featured all seem to have a lot of talent, so it’s entirely possible they’ll be up for Grammy awards or some similar recognition in the future.
The finale, which features a piece played by multiple current students and L.A. school district alumni, turned me into an absolute puddle not just because the song was so beautiful, but also seeing the different generations of people impacted by the work this shop does.
Overall, I enjoyed “The Last Repair Shop” and would give it a solid “A” grade. I enjoyed all the different interviews from the adults and children featured, and there were definitely multiple emotions I felt while watching the movie. The musical score is also wonderful and does a great job helping set the mood throughout. If you’re a band alumnus yourself, “The Last Repair Shop” (also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at this year’s Oscars) is a good one to cue up.
