Art House or Your House?

My husband and I took our son to summer orientation at Ithaca College in New York state earlier this week. Since the parents had evenings free, we decided to see a movie I had been waiting for that was not going to arrive at our local cineplex, Away We Go. And while I could make this post about the film, which I did enjoy by the way, I wanted to tell you more about the actual experience of viewing a movie in an art-house theater located in a college town (two colleges to be accurate since Ithaca is also the home of Cornell).

First of all, we had to find the place. When asked for directions by my husband, the woman who answered the phone at at the theater was apparently hard of hearing, very anti-customer service or just wanted the location to remain a secret. We set off with only a Green Street address and a dream that we would enjoy indie cinema that evening. After passing up and down the street twice with no glimpse of a movie marquee, we decided to park in a municipal parking garage and take to the street in hopes of finding someone who would reveal the site of the secret lair known as Cinemapolis. Low and behold, as we were descending the stairs of the garage, tucked quietly underneath the parking structure, was a little storefront building with "Cinemapolis" written out in poster paints on the windows.

After the older gentleman who worked at the ticket window (which we missed because he wasn't manning it at the time) returned from comforting his dog who happened to be tied up with rope under the shelter of the parking garage, we told him which movie we wanted to see. He took our money and handed us what looked to be generic tickets from a roll with "Admit One" printed on them. I assume he had a tally system going somewhere to keep track of which of the five movies people where attending.

There was a small concession stand which we bypassed. When we entered the designated door for our movie, we felt that we were entering someone's basement home theater. To our right were about four rows of seats very close up to the screen and then up a few stairs to the left were probably another seven or eight rows. Fresh paint, nice seats, smallish screen, in other words, no frills.

Everyone, about 20 in all, chose to sit in the section farther back from the screen, so it was rather cozy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing a movie with an audience, as long as the people sitting closest by don't giggle at every remotely funny line or "awww..." at each sweet sentiment expressed by one of the characters on screen. Of course this could happen at any theater across the country, but it happened at Cinemapolis so it goes into this post. To top it off, the print of the film was not great with a line, and sometimes multiple ones, running through the picture throughout the whole movie. I'm sure that was not the fault of the teenage boy who was dashing from theater to theater to thread the projectors.

After telling this story, I realize I sound cynical, set in my ways and seem to possess no sense of adventure. But I tell the story because it was an adventure and different from our experiences watching films in the corporate cineplexes or on DVD at home. Each type of venue has its advantages and setbacks. I am glad Ithaca has this non-profit, independent film theater and I'm sure the community does too. It brings movies to the area don't meet the profit expecations of the mainstream cineplex. Quirky, controversial, experimental movies should probably been seen in places that employ quirky staff, viewed in quarters that aren't too luxurious and with people who may not agree with your ideas of the world.

If you have an unforgettable movie viewing experience you would like to share (tales from the Cedar Lee, perhaps?), leave a comment on this blog, or if you live in the Medina County, Ohio area, join us on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 6:30 pm at the Brunswick Library (Hickory Room) for our monthly Film Discussion Group meeting.