The Art of the Shine

Many think of shoe shining as an archaic, outdated, and degrading occupation, one in which the shoe owner is looking down, literally and figuratively, on the shiner. Filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum’s unusual PBS-aired documentary looks at the world of the shoe shiner. In the South American city of La Paz, male shoe shiners are so embarrassed by their lowly status that they cover their faces with ski masks. On the other hand, a Japanese shoe shiner wears a jacket and tie in his shop, serves the customer a drink, and escorts the patron to the door when he is finished. A stand owner in Manhattan's Times Square keeps up a constant patter, heckling passersby in a good-natured manner about their need for a shine. And in Sarajevo, a street shoe shiner is deeply proud of following in his father's footsteps, citing his role in providing a semblance of decency and normalcy during that city's bloody 1990s civil war. Most of the practitioners interviewed here are reasonably content, even happy, saying their work helps them overcome alcoholism, PTSD, and other handicaps, while also forcing them to interact with others. Some even hope to build bridges in the community, starting a "revolution from the feet up." The film's most poignant episode introduces a young mother who shines shoes in La Paz—accompanied by her children—often earning only a few dollars a day. While not ashamed of the work, she does hope for a better life for her children. But mostly this is a celebratory film about shoe shiners and the customers who “feel like a king" when they leave the stand. Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Rees)