The 2017 documentary At the Drive-In tells a deceptively simple story. The owner of The Mahoning Drive-In, a historic drive-in theater in rural Pennsylvania, lacks the funds to purchase a $50,000 digital projector. Through luck, fate, or whatever particular alchemy you happen to believe in, a plucky collection of film enthusiasts stumble upon this pop culture throwback and offer to help the owner keep it alive by utilizing one of the most essential tools at the drive-in’s disposal: nostalgia.

Instead of continuing to show new films, the theater pivots to screening only vintage 35mm film prints. This sounds like it’s a simple tale of an antiquated form of entertainment rallying against the inevitable current of change — and there’s certainly an unmistakable element of that concept — but there’s so much more beneath the surface of this uplifting indie documentary.

The small staff of endearing cinephiles at The Mahoning Drive-In work for free, driven to help save this piece of local history not for financial gain but for the pure love of cinema. We’re inundated with a deluge of negativity on a daily basis, which is why films like At the Drive-In, which is now streaming for free on Prime Video, are more important than ever.

At the Drive-In is a textbook example of a hidden streaming gem. Similar to The Lost Arcade, Kurt Vincent’s stirring doc about New York City’s last great arcade, At the Drive-In succeeds by showing just how much this theater means to everyone involved. The film does an exceptional job of taking something personal and making it feel universal. It not only deftly captures the ineffable charms of what it feels like to attend a drive-in, but it makes anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast for enjoying something outside the mainstream feel just a little less alone.

The film is ostensibly about saving a drive-in, but at its heart, it’s about a group of like-minded movie fanatics finding a makeshift home in the cozy confines of a forgotten pop culture artifact. That feeling, that inherent snugness, is what sticks with you long after viewing.

At its core, At the Drive-In is a feel-good underdog story that highlights the restorative power of cinema. If you want to truly embrace the drive-in experience, Amazon also offers vintage drive-in movie ads, which are both aggressively weird and bizarrely entertaining. Enjoy the show!

If you’re interested in visiting The Mahoning Drive-In Theater, a complete schedule of upcoming events can be found on the theater’s website. You can also follow the theater on Facebook and/or Instagram.

Where to stream At The Drive-In