[CLOSED] Le Familia (Hesdin)

Something a little different this time -- a building that I've been inside, although the cinema itself closed nearly thirty years ago.  This isn't the first time I've come across a closed-down cinema in France, but something about this one grabbed me; with the increasing difficulty of visiting new French cinemas, I've decided that from now on I'll also include an entry for any defunct ones I come across (providing I can grab a photograph).

I chanced upon this cinema during a walking tour around Hesdin, which was an app-based, self-guided affair which is well worth doing should you ever visit the town.  Le Familia (capacity: just short of 700) opened between the wars and screened its last film in 1988 -- word has it, it was so popular back in the day that some viewers went as far as reserving their seats for the entire year.  Late night skin flicks were a staple at the cinema during the 70s, too.  I guess this raging popularity diminished somewhere down the line, hence the late 80s closure -- and the timing seems about right for a cinema to finally succumb to the onslaught of video.

But, and as we all know, moviegoing eventually survived and VHS didn't, and you can't help but feel that Hesdin and its environs could really use a permanent cinema; it's a long drive from here to the nearest one, and although Cinéligue (see post from June 2015) do serve the area, you sense that someone's missing a trick by not running a picture house here.  Le Familia had a nice Art Deco exterior, which still survives to an extent -- the upper part of the building certainly hints at its movie palace past.  Nowadays a supermarket (once Shopi, now Carrefour) uses the ground floor, as you can see in the below snap I took.  You can find the building in Place Garbé, just along from the post office.

Gaumont Disney Village

Film: Dunkirk (2017)

Screens: 15  Ticket price: 12.40€

Visits to French cinemas I haven't been to before are very rare these days, so I was pleased to squeeze in a trip to the Gaumont in Disney Village during a recent stay at Disneyland Paris.  A visit to any Disney park is always exhausting -- every day is a long one, but on one of our jam-packed days at the parks (where the illuminated castle/firework show doesn't kick off until 11pm) it turned out that we were done just in time for me to head to a late screening at the Gaumont.  I remembered the cinema from a past life and a Disneyland holiday way back in 2003 (I recall that Taxi 3 was showing at the time), which obviously predates my French cinemagoing adventures, and I always thought it would be a venue worth investigating.

The cinema's programming is downright baffling -- Disneyland is full of international visitors, yet virtually everything on offer at the cinema is in French.  On the day I visited, there was a solitary token screening in VO, and, just as with the Gaumont in Coquelles, it appears that the on-hand (and not inconsiderable) non-Francophone market isn't really on the radar of this cinema.  It may well be that they've tried offering more screenings in VOSTF but have found there are few takers -- most people don't come to Disneyland to sit in a cinema, after all, so targeting the local market (who may not go much on subbed fare) is obviously the cinema's aim.  If you've ever been to Disneyland Paris you'll be acutely aware of how money leaks from you akin to water from a broken fire hydrant, but the Gaumont's prices (again, not aimed at the non-local) are actually just about bearable (only 1.20€ more than Coquelles, which is way out in the provinces); it would be quite reasonable to assume that, as this is (i) Paris and (ii) Disneyland, then going to the cinema here would involve remortgaging your home, but not so.

I went to the IMAX (oh, with laser) screen (another 4€, thank you) which seemed like the place to be if you were going to see anything here, and the superb sound and picture could not be faulted -- Nolan's Dunkirk proving far more immersive than when I'd seen it on a standard screen in its original language (interestingly, Dunkirk would retain its place in the IMAX here even as the most expensive French film of all time -- Luc Besson's Valerian -- opened).  The cinema makes for a pleasant and straightforward filmgoing experience, and I would certainly have no problem with returning here -- especially to the IMAX screen.  The staff I encountered were all friendly and helpful, the place is clean and tidy, and, all told, it's probably the cheapest two hours or so you'll have while visiting Disneyland.

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