Home is Where the Heart Is (2007)
Support your local business, please. Thank you.

The saying goes, home is where the heart is. Usually that might conjure images of dinner tables, family rooms, kids playing and happy domesticity. But it could also apply to the broader community, the spirit of a place and the hopes and dreams of the community at large, especially as demonstrated by local business owners. Locally owned businesses form the bedrock of a community's economy; they are the frontline in the war on keeping a community from becoming yet another Walmart subsidiary. Opening a small business in a small community like Corvallis is an expression of faith on the part of some community members that other community members will also believe in supporting the entrepreneurial spirit that makes a city thrive.

In his documentary, Home is Where the Heart Is, Sean Brown, a young Corvallis filmmaker, shines a spotlight on a handful of the many fine businesses that keep downtown Corvallis a vibrant and colorful place to visit at a time when so many other cities are seeing a decay in their downtown areas.

Seemingly spurred by the closing of one of the downtown's premier businesses — Paul Turner's late lamented Avalon Theater — Brown visits some of Turner's neighbors: Sibling Revelry, Inside Out, Grassroots Books and Music, among others. Keeping the tone positive, Brown's idea is simple: he puts thee the business owners in front of the camera and lets them explain their business philosophy. Turns out that behind every storefront are some pretty nice people, though usually a bit camera shy.

Another segment of the film takes us to the Farmers' Market to remind us that all the wonderful farm crops being grown in the valley are also brought to you by people who are no less worthy of the title "business person." As it turns out, one of the best things environmentally conscious people can do to preserve the quality of life locally and globally is to buy as much food from local farmers as possible. Here in the Willamette Valley, we are especially lucky that there is so much local produce, eggs and other agricultural products available.

While it may not seem the most exciting of topics, Brown keeps his film moving fairly well, and makes his point without resorting to hard sell. This review is probably more of a hard sell than his film is. In my defense, I will say that I was a particularly strong advocate for the Avalon Cinema, which I felt perfectly embodied part of the reason I think Corvallis is such a great place to live. With its closing, I think the city lost a bit of its soul.

Brown's film is a good reminder not to take too many things for granted.