The Things ... Going to the Movies (Ins Kino)
I still cannot believe it. I survived the movies during a global pandemic. And for that particular movie (more on that later), it was totally worth it! Will I do it again... probably not. Why? My nerves didn't reset for 14 days after going! I need for theaters and the motion picture industry just to continue to take a pause. Because there is really no one guiding the safe reopening of going to the movies. Every movie theater has their own rules and regulations - globally. Each market is getting different films to try to re-open the industry back up. And movie goers and enthusiasts are torn by their love for going to theater and their need to not die. I just do not think it is worth it as movies will eventually be available in the comfort of ones home. But for so many people it is the smell and feel of going to an actual movie theater. There is the ability to see the stars you love on the big screen whilst smelling popcorn, hearing audiences react and the sound is incredible. It just isn't the same rubbing fingerprints off a DVD and sitting on the couch. People are waiting to appreciate this ins Kino experience and you all are excited for this showing. You turn your phones off, you get your snacks and you are in another world. But at home people have needs, phones ring, DHL shows up and you cannot enjoy the experience without real world interruptions. But right now this is colliding because wearing a mask, filling out forms and carefully apologizing to do as much as sneeze ruins that experience. And in Germany where film distribution is long and tiresome, if you do not see something when it arrives it could take years to stream or own it. So for me seeing "Tenent" OmU (Original mit Untertitle/Original with Subtitles) meant seeing it then or never seeing it all.
I enjoyed "Tenet" so much but my husband hated it. I really wished to see it again. So it broke my heart when the local film group decided to give it a go to see it a week after we went. I wanted so badly to attend but of course I had to imagine how difficult that would have been in a large group. In years prior we would meet up as perfect strangers, introduce ourselves in the theater lobby and then buy tickets for the same row. The goal was to experience the movie together as singles and then leave to a bar or coffee shop to discuss what we saw as a collective. But how on Earth was this possible now? Had I not have been the week prior I may have taken the chance but I knew how difficult it was for just my husband and I. We normally buy movie tickets well in advance online and reserved seating is normal in Germany. But there are also random people who spontaneously decide to see whatever is playing and those people ruined it for everyone else B.C. (before Covid). Today these poor theaters are doing everything to keep people from loitering in groups so we can social distance. This particular theater seems to be doing things to force people to arrive as the movie begins. The coffee machine is out of order. The doors are locked until 30 minutes before showtime. But then comes those idiots like normal crowing the ticket lady and hovering in front of the doors. And then they are all over the lobby filling out their forms, removing their masks and sticking the pens in their mouths. But we had our tickets, printed and filled out our forms at home and we wanted to wait with cappuccinos but no. Thankfully, reserved seats are now staggered but it doesn't prevent people from doing stupid shit the entire movie long. And that was completely and totally distracting. And it also brought the same anxiety as dining out.
"Tenet" requires a lot of concentration as any Chris Nolan movie does. But imagine having to comprehend subtitles in another language and worry about someone coughing profusely, or getting up to use the restroom during a good scene. Let me rephrase that. Someone coughing profusely with no mask, jumping up to go to the restroom, walking through a closed theater coughing, realizing they need a mask to exit, returning to their seat still coughing and then talking and fumbling in the dark to find their fucking mask to finally walk out. I enjoyed the movie. But I was petrified of all of that. And I remained petrified until I was in the clear fourteen days after my exposure. Some theaters are asking people to keep their masks on. Others are saying remove it once seated. Others are not really identifying the gray area like sliding past someone on your row, going to concession for more napkins or if you have a coughing or sneezing fit. There should be rules for ettiequte on that. We have rules for turning off ones phone off, not bringing outside food or drink and waiting at the stairs or entrance until action has died to move about. Why haven't rules been implemented for the what ifs? I feel like this is why American theaters haven't reopened to full capacity yet. They do not know what people will do with self service popcorn butter or in full reclining seats. People simply cannot control themselves!
So for "Tenet" I would take the risk again but for movies/kino in general it would be a 0/10 because the risk level of direct, closed exposure to the virus is a definite 10/10!
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