The Lost Arcade Review: Perfect

As Pokémon Go shocks most of the world with its social impact on players – this feeling of belonging and community is familiar to a few: Arcade gamers.

They once littered the arcade with their quarters to challenge the highest score, leaving their mark on gaming cabinets while earning bragging rights amongst regulars. The Arcade may be a relic of Americana, but like most things of pop culture’s past in today’s society, they find a second life and that second life is Kurt Vincent’s “The Lost Arcade.”

Chronicling the rise, fall and rebirth of New York’s famous Chinatown Fair Arcade, Vincent captures the essence of what made Chinatown fair a magical place for patrons and the community formed that transcends the walls of the Mott Street establishment.

Starting with Vincent just visiting the arcade to shoot the final day of Chinatown Fair’s first run, the documentary seems broad and unfocused. It quickly pivots as Vincent meets a longtime Chinatown Fair customer, Anthony Cali Jr., and from there the history and significance of the last standing pure arcade in New York City becomes clear.

Looking back at the boom of arcades in New York’s in the 1980s, Vincent traces back the arcades that lit up Times Square and as historian Jason Scott puts it in the documentary, “New York City does nothing half way” and its arcades were a reflection of that – that did not fare well for Chinatown Fair and it was sold to Sam Palmer, a man fascinated by the allure of the arcade even though he knew nothing about video games, the same magical magnetic pull that pulled the kids that populated his arcade drew him to buy it – Palmer would own the arcade for the next 30 years.

This piece of history is important in establishing Vincent’s through line, which is the mysticism surrounding the arcade, not literally; however through his subjects and the film’s symphonic throwback score it is clear that this not a eulogy for Chinatown Fair, it is an exploration of its community and beauty.

As the runtime of the film goes by, more and more you feel that you have been initiated into the cult of the arcade with Vincent’s camera being your keyhole into this world.

The documentary strays away from being cynical as well – after the closing of Chinatown Fair, it is brought back not long after, like most reboots, it is never as good as the original and the new arcade is geared more towards kids shunning the teenagers that called Chinatown Fair. It does not fall in the trap of bashing the new Chinatown Fair, which would be easy, but would stray away from the good nature of the documentary that is about the community and acceptance surrounding the arcade.

Chinatown Fair, although not the same, the spirit of its glory days lives on through “The Lost Arcade.” The documentary is perfect viewing for anyone that has every attached themselves to a spot. It conjures up fond memories of that old store you use to go to that had a specific candy and there were all your friends there. “The Lost Arcade” is one of the great gaming docs.