Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: LAST CALL - THE SHUTDOWN OF NYC BARS [Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The dread of COVID and its reflection is an interesting perspective. What "Last Call: The Shutdown Of NYC Bars" [Documentary Competition] does is take, in its best moment, a microscopic view of one place in the outlying area of NYC in Queens (a place this writer is familiar with) and give it a face. Granted in its hour long progression it slightly loses its way by telling a bigger story...yet the power of its central theme remains. The film squarely rests on the eventual and continued closing down of The Sparrow Tavern which is not far away from the Ditmars Blvd N Stop in Queens just north of the Interstate 278. This is a rich cultural area and always feels like the border between the boroughs, because it has that local feeling without feeling like the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world. The film, shot during the early pandemic with heavy protocol which seemed to relax a little the further into the shoot they got, is heartfelt because of the people involved. Granted they could have taken more than the main bar and a connected bar to highlight the immediate area (but it is a difficult ask in that time period understandable). They do integrate St. Francis Hospital which is a bit farther towards Long Island (to give a bigger perspective of the crisis) but the movie skews that way for a good 15 minutes before revolving back to its main protagonist.

That is not a distinct criticism but the film is about this specific bar so the title is slightly misleading (though it is understood for marketing reasons). But the core story is interesting especially revolving around the lead bartender, her manager, the bar backs, etc. There are some different elements but some more local customers of that specific bar would have made a lot of sense. A separate bar which has people that used to be associated with Sparrow: Diamond Dogs (which is located not far from Sparrow but closer to 30th on the other side of the 278) has its own story. The two people spoken to there give an interesting view but it is slightly disjointed since there is not as much sense of place. Granted the documentary is just a little over an hour and doing such a film in the middle of the pandemic to capture a moment of time is still a feat. But in creating its narrative, it moves around a lot yet understands its central point. Ultimately it gives a somewhat incomplete view (maybe not for the Sparrow) but for the direct area it serves. B

By Tim Wassberg