The short "The Knife Sharpener" is a beautiful portrait of Carmine Mainella, one of Rome's last knife sharpeners that still works in the trade.

Mr. Mainella is one of the last of a dying profession. Much of his old client base — corner butcher shops, delicatessens, mom-and-pop groceries — has been swallowed up by supermarket chains. Other clients in downtown neighborhoods here have capitulated to souvenir shops, victims of high rents and modern shopping habits.

"They've all gone," Mr. Mainella said. "Now I serve 5 shops, where before I served 10." Before the latest economic crisis sharply curtailed household spending, he was able to live on fewer commissions. When money went further, "you could survive sharpening 50 knives," he added. "Now, because you can't increase the price, you have to sharpen 500."

There is no fixed price for his labor. He takes what he gets — a euro here, a euro fifty there. "Still I get by," he said.

Via Tjock (SE).