Short and sweet, “The Automat” is a fond remembrance of a vanished era – the past seen through a tiny glass window.

Hurwitz takes a terrific subject and treats it with undisguised, and justified, affection. What’s most impressive about “The Automat” is how much ground it covers.

The Automat is rather like a nickel slice of pie or bowl of mac & cheese you’d get from one of their restaurants. It’s not fancy, but it’s good.

Director Lisa Hurwitz has made an absolute delight of a documentary telling a seemingly non-essential and yet totally essential piece of forgotten history.