The world's last bookstore

The world's last bookstore is a two-and-a-half-hour literary discussion disguised as a somewhat hollow trip to the desert. Four literary friends travel there by minibus, whose license plates range from Plath to Homer, from Whitman to Anaïs Nin and from Nabokov to Woolfe. The purpose of the strongly metaphorical journey is to save quality literature by establishing the world's last bookstore in the desert.

The best part of the dramatic documentary directed by Rax Rinnekangas is the discussions between four different people, where they share their personal reading experiences and reflect on the meaning of literature. At times, they achieve and convey in a beautiful way the magic that fine literature is capable of at its best.

The open-mindedness and sincerity of the discussions presented aloud open up a space for the possibility of genuine thought. Sometimes the discussion seems biased and elitist. As if the greatest threat to literature were Nordic detective fiction.

From the outrage over this strangely emphasized geographical genre, one can see how small the cultural differences between the four ”culturally different” literary enthusiasts really are, and how the film very closely revolves around the Western canon of literature.

And yet it's like a lovely, warm hug from a book lover to another.

Watch the movie trailer here:

Premiere: October 13, 2017
Genre: Documentary
Direction: Rax Rinnekangas
Cast: Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Kaisa Kukkola, Nacho Angulo, Boris Koneczny
Country: Finland, Spain