Books, Rats and Elegant Shoes

Three documentaries out now that deserve to be on your radar.

IN THE STACKS

With Ex Libris: New York Public Library, prolific 87-year-old filmmaker Frederick Wiseman trains his ultra-perceptive lens on the NYPL system, an organism that makes New Yorkers’ lives better in ways big and small.

OF RATS AND MEN

The rat-phobic may shy away. But Theo Anthony’s Rat Film is as much about a city–specifically, Baltimore–as it is about rodents. It’s a sympathetic, if sometimes disturbing, look at how rats and humans get along. Or don’t.

THE ART OF THE HEEL

Michael Roberts’ Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards, a portrait of high-heel maestro Manolo Blahnik, is pure delight for anyone who cares about shoes or about the intricacies of true craftsmanship.