It's time again, children, for another 'review from the booth'...the column in which I -a projectionist at a small independant theatre- reviews for you - the breathlessly awaiting audience- films that come through. The twist is that I don't always get to watch the whole thing. Ha! Isn't that just the darndest?
What's special about today's edition is that I probably saw a combined time of one minute of the movie I played on Friday night: Sophie Scholl. The reasons had nothing to do with the actual movie...well, other than one of them is that the movie looks so serious and informative that I didn't want to watch it while working, I want to watch it when the theatre is someone else's responsibility so I can concentrate. Another reason is that I was having a shift of hell that day and the place (as I mentioned before) is not fully air conditioned (I am impressively stinky by the end of my shift, let me tell you) and...AND I ran to the theatre to be there early enough to build the film hours before I played it. That last one is no big deal, really, 'cept that I hadn't built a film for a long time, it was my first time on the new system and I ALWAYS get g-damn nervous.
And now for the review:
It looks good.
I realized on Friday that I can often tell how good a movie is by the body language and facial expressions of the audience that is filing out. If we have a sad/poignant film, if it's good there's a few tell tale signs:
a/ the more people who do not get up during the credits and instead opt to stay in their seats out of respect for the film they just experienced and also to allow themselves time to get ahold of themselves...the better the movie.
b/ people who leave the theatre have a few different ways of dealing with re-entering the current and real world. Some people will stare straight ahead and wander out on their own accord. These people do not want you to ask how the movie was...they don't even want to make eye contact. Others need to talk to you. They need to discuss their thoughts and feelings.
All this is not unlike the reaction to a small real tragedy. In a good movie, THAT'S what you're looking for.
For Sophie Scholl...THAT'S what you're looking for.
Sophie Scholl...and remember, I haven't seen it. Is essentially the biography of the last 6 days in the live of a woman who was part of an underground resistance movement with views to overthrow the Nazi regime.
So..as you can see, when I watch a group of people exiting the theatre as though they've just been part of some sort of train wreck, I'm relatively assured that it is money well spent.
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