Now showing: The finest movie house memories

Welcome to the movies, ladies and gentlemen! The February 24 issue of the magazine boasts a double feature: Staff writer Kendra Nordin Beato looks at the art-house cinema revival, and our film critic Peter Rainer shares his thoughts about the best performances of 2024, ahead of the Oscars ceremony. 

Kendra’s story leans into the role these cinemas play as communal gathering spaces. The theaters are usually run by people who really, really love films. For me, the old neighborhood movie houses evoke a sense of occasion, of nostalgia, while the mall megaplex feels corporate and anonymous. Cinemas have personalities, while megaplexes feel like they’re mainly interested in selling you a dining-out experience with a movie on the side. 

I enjoy feeling part of an event. In New York last May, my son and I stumbled on a screening of the 2005 movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” at Roxy Cinema. There was a surprising level of buzz and excitement in the auditorium as we took our seats. After the lights came up, I learned the reason. “Sisterhood” superfans were there to hear the director, Ken Kwapis, and one of the stars, Amber Tamblyn, talk about making the film. I loved the insider stories, and I came away with a greater appreciation of the movie.

I called Peter to get his favorite art-house cinema moments. He went to college in the Boston area, and during finals week The Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square would screen “Casablanca.” Students would blow off steam by interacting with the movie, singing along to “La Marseillaise” and popping corks whenever there was a champagne toast. And this was some years before the audience participation in midnight showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

After Peter moved to Los Angeles, his gig as a film critic made it so that he saw most of his movies in press screenings. But a cinema near his home in Santa Monica, the Aero Theatre, offers retrospectives and special events with filmmakers. Peter says that whenever the theater owners wished to raise money, they showed classics like “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Lawrence of Arabia.” The latter film was so long that it had an intermission. Peter chuckles at the memory of audience members lining up at the water fountain during that break. They were parched from watching scenes of burning desert sands.  

Peter also relishes the annual Three Stooges festival at an art house cinema in Glendale. It’s a community event, attracting people of all ages. Parents bring their children to watch the antics of Moe, Larry, and Curly. Before the show, the audience competes to see who can yell Curly’s trademark “Soitenly!” (“Certainly!” for the uninitiated) the loudest. Peter says the festival also brought about a romantic union: One couple met there and got married. The emcee introduces them each year at the festival. 

For so many theatergoers, the movie house represents more than a place to screen films. It’s a part of the community.

Thanks for your patronage. Don’t forget to visit the concession stand. And please enjoy the rest of the offerings in this issue.

This column first appeared in the Feb. 24 issue of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly. Subscribe today to receive future issues of the Monitor Weekly magazine delivered to your home.