As
British cinemas prepare to reopen, delve into the rich history of films that put movie theatres in the spotlight
At long last, cinemas are reopening on Monday, ending a long winter for those of us who, with due respect to the streaming platforms that fuel this very column, don’t only wish to watch films from the comfort of our living rooms. No amount of technological advancement in home cinema systems can compensate for the communal thrill of big-screen immersion. But for anyone still wary of setting foot back in their local picture house, I thought I’d devote this week’s column to the often grandly atmospheric films set in and around cinemas that you can nonetheless stream from a cautious distance.
Some of the first titles I thought of turned out to be, perhaps with appropriate resistance to modernity, unavailable to stream. You’ll have to order its recent Blu-ray restoration to enjoy Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), Tsai Ming-liang’s ravishing, dreamlike ode to the joys of old-school filmgoing, while A Useful Life (2010), Uruguayan director Federico Veiroj’s lovely, wistful docufiction chronicling the closure of a Montevideo cinematheque, can be found on DVD only. They’re worth the extra effort.