The Old Stores

Hanyooyot Shel Pa'am / Israel 2006 / 53min. Hebrew, Arabic with English subtitles.
Director Yoav Gurfinkel / Producer Yoav Gurfinkel, Maayan Keret

In a world populated by mega-malls and TV shopping, this film is a nostalgic look at the old and fast disappearing world of the neighborhood stores and service equal to none.

Director Yoav Gurfinkel documents some of the remaining old stores in modern-day Tel Aviv-Jaffa which have somehow managed to survive despite the hardships of time. A sentimental trip down memory lane, Gurfinkel meanders through the main and back streets of the city and into the charming wood paneled shops that appear untouched through decades of change.

We take a look at an Arab owned pharmacy, a barber, a furrier, a haberdasher and a lingerie shop. Before us we see unfolding another world – one of tradition and the family run business and, a place very different from the fast-paced and dynamic life that has become our daily grind. Each store has wrestled with the passage of time. Some give in and move on whilst others refuse change and end up retreating into their own enclaves. Then there are those that recognize potential within the old to infuse with a fresh momentum and find new ways to regenerate.

Captured within the film is the wistful longing for olde world values and the dilemma of having to contemplate change in the face of modernization. Accompanied by a jazz soundtrack, The Old Stores is a delightful celebration of a fast disappearing world and a welcome antidote to the cold and faceless world of eBay and virtual shopping.

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