[CLOSED] Cinéma Crystal

I don't know how many times I walked past this fine building on Calais' Rue Royale before realising it used to be a cinema.  If you were to visit Calais as a foot passenger, you could walk to this building in around 15 minutes from when the passenger bus dumps you at the front of the ferry terminal.  Once you know of the Crystal's history, it's painfully obvious that this was once a movie palace; the exterior remains largely unchanged, with a "Casino" sign now in place of the one which once read "Cinema".  The Crystal was constructed in the 1950s, alongside countless other buildings which were put up as part of a massive rebuilding programme in the city following WW2; Calais was virtually razed to the ground during the war, although the magnificent 13th-century Tour du Guet -- a mere stone's throw from the Crystal -- somehow survived.

Sadly, Cinéma Crystal wasn't around for all that long, and by the 1970s the 600-seat establishment had closed down, with the building subsequently housing a casino which is still going strong -- meaning it's now been there for roughly twice as long as the cinema was.  It's a pity that the cinema's lifespan was relatively short, but I suppose by the 70s the market was changing -- as were tastes and fashions -- and the increasing popularity (and availability) of TV was also chipping away at the status of cinemas.  You're quite free to have a wander around inside, and it all feels quite grand.  While its current use may not be the one it was originally intended for, it's nonetheless heartening to think of how this building -- like so many in the city -- sprang from the rubble of 1945.

[CLOSED] L'Eden

There's something rotten in the city of Havre -- at least, there seems to be if you've followed the shenanigans surrounding the closure of two of its cinemas, both of which were shut down within a year or so of each other (you can read about Les Clubs' misfortunes here).  All of this occurred at the beginning of this decade, a period in which I was no stranger to Le Havre yet, to my regret, I never made it to a screening at L'Eden -- although I did visit the striking Volcan building which housed the cinema.  The Volcan is the home of France's very first maison de la culture, which opened in 1961 at what is now the excellent Museé Malraux, before moving on to the Volcan via the Théâtre de l'Hôtel Ville.

Museé Malraux

The maison's first site was where Jacques Rivette's legendary Out 1 enjoyed its first public screening, and it's only right that the museum now carries the name of the man who, in launching the maison de la culture initiative, helped make the French arts scene a lot less Paris-centric.  André Malraux was appointed France's first Minister of Cultural Affairs by Charles de Gaulle, and in 1962 both men survived assassination attempts.  The attempt on Malraux's life -- which nonetheless had dreadful consequences in that it resulted in the blinding of a four-year-old girl -- was carried out by the OAS, a right-wing organisation vehemently opposed to Algerian independence; in 1963, Malraux's future son-in-law Alain Resnais would make the staggering Muriel, a film heavily informed by the Algerian War.

The Volcan's temporary home: la Gare du Havre-Maritime

But I digress.  The Volcan opened in 1982, with the cinema operating right from the off until January 2010, when it "temporarily" closed for renovations which were set for the following year.  Promptly after this closure, the cinema was told that the keys needed to be returned for good; apparently the fermeture was actually definitive (although the building actually did undergo a makeover, during which the Volcan set up a temporary home at one of Havre's old train stations).  The reason given by the suits for the sudden winding up of L'Eden was -- wait for it -- that three security agents (!) would be required to watch over each screening.  Unless they were planning to screen nothing other than workprints from the likes of Scorsese and Tarantino, why on earth would such security measures be needed?  There's something very, very wrong about all of this -- the justification for L'Eden's closure seems not only completely implausible, but ill-thought-out; an Allociné interview with the cinema's ex-directrice Ginette Dislaire makes for a most interesting read.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention: a shiny new 12-screen Gaumont had opened in the city just a few months prior to the curtain coming down on L'Eden.

Website (for Le Volcan)

Cinéligue NPDC Théâtre St Martin

Film: Incredibles 2 (2018)

Screens: 1  Ticket Price: 4.80€

Three years after my first Cinéligue experience (in Fruges), the chance to go to another of their screenings finally came around again -- this time in Beaurainville, which, from where we were staying, is on the way to Montreuil-sur-Mer.  At least three consecutive issues of a local weekly newspaper listed the screening as taking place a day later than the date advertised on Cinéligue's website, which was something of a concern.  In the end I went with the website and, thankfully, that was the right choice.  Although I couldn't help but think that Cinéligue could well have lost out on some business due to this error, with many of the good people of Beaurainville potentially turning up a day late (and a euro short).

I'd never been to Beaurainville before, and while the drive there was pretty straightforward I must confess I doubt if I'd have found the venue without the aid of the previously-vilified GPS.  When I did find the right street, I was mighty relieved to see the Cinéligue van stationed in front of the building.  I parked up in a nearby side street and headed on in.

This venue is quite different to the one in Fruges in that it is an actual theatre, so the stage and the permanent seating etc. are all in place, and in all honesty it would pretty much pass for a dedicated cinema if you were unaware that this was a Cinéligue venture.  I'm pretty sure that the friendly guy who sold me my ticket (who also starts the projector and, presumably, drives the van) is the same one I encountered last time, and, amazingly, the ticket price was also the same as it was in Fruges in 2015.

An 8.30 start is a bit late for a film primarily aimed at kids, and Pixar don't exactly do snappy 80-minute films.  Add on the obligatory short film and a couple of trailers -- plus a delay for the man to get from the ticket counter to the projector -- and it was after 10.30 when we started spilling out into the dark; even I was wilting a bit by the end.  Cinéligue usually tend to screen kids' films as matinees, but I suppose it was the school holidays.  As you can see from the above picture, the building is quite striking, and it was a very nice place to catch up with a film I was otherwise struggling to fit in over the crammed summer schedule.  Three years on, my opinion of the whole Cinéligue operation hasn't changed: it's a fantastic initiative which you should try and support/experience if you ever find yourself within easy reach of one of their events.

Website

Le Regency

Films: Maya the Bee: The Honey Games (2018), Un flic (2019; original release: 1972)

Screens: 1  Ticket Price: 6.50€

We'd never been to Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise until the day we visited the cinema there, and although it's probably the nearest permanent cinema to "our" village (meaning: the one we've holidayed in for the past four summers), it's still a good 40 minutes or so away by car.  Such a journey would have been a bit prohibitive had it been just for the sake of a single film but was fine when, as in our instance, a cinema trip could be part of a longer afternoon out which also included a walk around the funfair, a productive (if expensive) visit to an excellent newsagent, and a well-earned menthe à l'eau at a very pleasant café.  Saint-Pol is quite compact and it doesn't take long to get around the centre on foot; parking is also surprisingly straightforward -- there's a handy free car park (restricted on Mondays, when the market comes to town) by the town hall, which is just a stone's throw from the cinema.

The Regency itself has its small entrance located in the side of a much bigger building, but the film posters outside make it an easy place to spot.  This modest opening gives way to a welcoming foyer featuring some interesting pictures, which you can have a look at before approaching the ticket/popcorn counter.  The auditorium itself is very comfortable and quite grand, with the rather utilitarian exterior of the Regency providing no hint of the relatively palatial space that's housed within.

The lone member of staff on duty was very pleasant, and the ticket and snack prices were quite reasonable.  They could probably charge a bit more, seeing as they're not just the only show in town, but rather the only show for countless towns around.  That said, from reading the local paper and flicking through some magazines in the foyer, it is obvious that the Regency takes a great deal of pride in playing a big part in community life, with numerous schools screenings and other special events peppering their calendar.  The team here clearly work very hard at bringing a great range of films to Saint-Pol, and at the time of our visit a season of classic musicals -- all in VO -- was in progress.  The cinema has also been known to attract the odd megastar -- the aforementioned pictures on the foyer wall providing evidence of a recent visit from none other than Dany Boon, and in a couple of weeks or so the legendary Michel Ocelot will be there to introduce his latest (and no doubt wondrous) slice of animation.  

Website

[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.

Website

Cinéligue NPDC Espace culturel Francis Sagot

Film: Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément! (2015)

Screens: 1  Ticket Price: 4.80€

It's been five long years since I've had the pleasure of discovering a new cinema in France; granted, during that half-decade I'd managed to get along to French cinemas whenever the chance arose, but always to a venue I'd been to before.  The blog does get minor updates from time to time (usually whenever I've seen a film in France), but such edits aren't reflected in the dates -- which are noted according to when the post was first published -- so please don't think this is the first thing I've done on here since 2011.

Anyway, with such ramblings out of the way, to the cinema in question: well, it's not actually a cinema per se, but rather a multi-use venue that sometimes plays host to a form of pop-up cinema.  Such events are run by Cinéligue, an organisation that tours around the region and effectively plugs the gaps for places that don't have cinemas.  This concept is pretty great, especially when you consider the abundance of cinemas that there are in France to begin with, and it serves to remind us of just how valued the seventh art is in that country.

My experience of Cinéligue is a shining example of just how useful this setup is.  We were on a family holiday, and a full week away often provides a decent chance of clocking up another French cinema experience.  However, the village we were staying in was a good distance from the nearest cinema(s) -- fumbling with the map and our nigh on useless GPS, it looked like either one of two cinemas I'd notionally picked would involve something of a 90 minute round-trip, which was really out of the question.  However, while out walking in the village, a poster in the town hall window advertised Cinéligue's activities in Fruges, a town we'd passed through on the drive down from the ferry; better still, one of the two dates listed coincided with our holiday time (the other date was for a film I'd already seen, so that was all very fortunate).  

So, a couple of days later and after a very busy day at the excellent Dennlys parc, I headed out to Fruges, which took about 15 minutes by car.  With only the loosest sense of where the cinema was, I parked up in the town hall car park (you can usually rely on being able to do that in France, especially in the evening).  Luckily there was a sign pointing to the Espace culturel, and in about 10 minutes or so I'd walked to where I thought the place was; however, the road I'd walked along showed no signs of activity, and when I found the building it appeared to be closed -- black privacy glass gave no clue as to whether anyone was inside, and there were no cars or people around.  

Wandering around the back of the building, I spotted a Cinéligue van parked up, so decided to go back to the main entrance and try the door, which thankfully opened without the wail of an intruder alarm.  Just past the entrance lobby there was a desk where I bought my (superbly cheap) ticket, before taking my seat alongside half a dozen other people.  Gradually, the place got busier, and after a talk about coming attractions (in lieu of trailers, I guess), a short played before the main feature.  The film (Clovis Cornillac's directorial debut) was very enjoyable -- much more fun than I'd anticipated -- and, as is so often the case in France, the novel venue just added to the experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed my Cinéligue experience, and would be pleased to support the initiative again.  One suggestion for this venue, however -- maybe prop open the door at the start of the evening, and not just at closing time?

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