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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