In this magnificent filmic essay, director Doug Nichol explores the mythology attached to the typewriter, as cultural historians, collectors and various obsessives (including Tom Hanks, John Mayer, David McCullough, Sam Shepard) celebrate the physicality of the typewriter both as object and means of summoning the creative spirit. It also movingly documents the struggles of California Typewriter in Berkeley, CA, one of the last standing repair shops in America dedicated to keeping the aging machines clicking.

Not rated, the documentary runs one hour, 43 minutes and opens Friday, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. at the State Theatre, 1307 J St., Modesto.

A fascinating combination of history and emotional narrative plunges us into the mysterious, bittersweet moment in which a beloved technology faces extinction and delivers a thought provoking meditation on our analog past, and the changing dynamic between humans and machines.

For online ticket sales go to www.thestate.org. To purchase your tickets by phone call The State Box Office at 209-527-4697 from noon to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. If still available, tickets may also be purchased the night of the event up to the start of the presentation.