.jpg) |
| Montmartre, dominated by the Sacré-Cœur |
Screens: 1 Ticket price: 9€
The first cinema I set foot in on French soil (unless we count non-film excursions to the UGC in Lille) still stands as one of the best. Both times we've been there we've been staying just around the corner from the cinema on the steep Rue Tholozé, which is deep in the heart of Amélie country (indeed, part of that film was shot in the cinema's opulent interior), AKA Montmartre.
There's something very special about this one-screener. Luis Buñuel's shockfest L'Age d'Or debuted here, as did his later Los Olvidados. At one time Jean Cocteau was closely associated with the place and designed some of the interior features such as the light fittings, a peek at which is arguably worth the (by no means extortionate) ticket price alone -- or, you could just click on the link (that reminds me -- put your 'phone away, you ****). There's a nice-looking bar (no food or drink allowed in the cinema, mind) and (hopefully still) a charming resident Wire Fox Terrier; we once swung by there when the cinema was shut as part of its annual closing, and as we stood outside figuring out our next move, the dog drove past and glanced at the cinema. It's true -- he was in the left-hand seat, and I very much doubt the car was an import.
My inaugural experience of a film at a French cinema was a preview of Ozon's sweaty 5x2 -- a film that, at the time, I felt was less than the sum of its parts and actually more like 6/10 (I thank you). But in the months that followed it really started to grow on me, for several reasons -- it does have an emotional resonance, it featured the great Michael Lonsdale, there's fine use of Sparring Partner on the soundtrack, and even that reedy sister of the first lady (who's also rent-a-deviant Louis Garrel's real-life Mrs Robinson) was pretty good in it. Man, did she stink in that Chabrol film. The cinema, which probably has only a couple of hundred seats, was packed and they even conducted a short pre-film quiz, which sounds really intense and geeky but was actually quite relaxed and fun. Tuesday night previews are a staple there, and I would imagine that if I lived round those parts (as if...) I'd become one of the many who religiously turn out for them. Films are always in their original language there -- it's a pretty hardcore place, but fun and friendly.
Since you weren't wondering, the "28" part in the name comes from the year the cinema opened, which apparently makes it the longest-running picture house in Paris. The cinema was immortalised in a 1998 film starring Mike Myers.
Website
