06/18/2002 Entry: "(Solo and) Double Feature."

You know, before yesterday I had never seen a movie by myself before. I powered over to the Herbst theater, sat down, and realized that I had 30 minutes that I could have spent eating (which I forgot to do) or walking leisurely here. So I had time to sit and contemplate how odd it is to be alone in a theater.

Which is to say, not odd at all.

This first movie was É Minha Cara (That's my face), an interesting documentary on one man's quest to find himself in the orisha of Brazil, and along the way seeing what it means to be black in Brazil and here in the US. The motif he uses—that everything can be two things (or more) at once—was both universal and particularly relevant for a gay audience. Surface appearances can hide deeper (or at least unexposed) meanings. I liked that the narrator's "revelation" of his gayness was just something that happened organically, without fanfare—suddenly, he's with a handsome male companion, and it's clear (though sometimes only subtly so) that they're not merely friends. And I've long had an affinity for Vodou/Santería/Candomblé (which I admit I still don't quite understand why.)

Anyway. The extra time I allotted was unfortunately on the wrong side of the movie; I kept one eye on the time so I could run out to catch MUNI and see the other movie on the agenda that evening. The Boyfriend and I made extended contingency plans on meeting inside the theater if need be. And aside from the schedule miscalculation and the forgetting-to-eat parts, I was prepared for the worst.

I ran from the theater and saw a familiar face racing across the yellow light towards me, hotfooting it over to get in line early for the next show. So, how was your movie, Gino?

Well, it turned out I didn't even need to run. Got there and met the Boyfriend in line with plenty of time to even eat a bran muffin beforehand. AKA was really interesting; the projection on three screens was a lot less distracting than expected; in many ways it was useful to be able to look left or right to see someone's reaction, or to see something crucial happen multiple times. (As an aside, I need to see Timecode one of these days.) The story is excellent; we walked out talking about class society. Are English society people really that conceited and superior? Is there an American equivalent, and if so can the Nouveau Riche buy their way in to ours in a way they can't?

That's the one thing that's different about seeing a movie on your own: the discussion about it afterwards just isn't as lively.

Well, not usually.

Replies: One Comment

Can't speak for the REALLY top-drawer here in the USA (ah, to be at Upson Downs now that June is there), but my few brushes with the A-Gays here in the city tell me...yes, even where there's not an organically grown caste system as in England, we seem to have need to create one. Gag!

Posted by Huntington @ 06/18/2002 09:11 PM PST