Coming Soon

“I would go every single day if I could, but I would look very foolish eating popcorn all by my self.” –Judith Ortega

I’m all alone in a dark room. Nobody is around, but they’re supposed to be. Rows and rows of empty seats stretch as far as I can see. It’s dark and cold, but I don’t want to go. I’m not confused or in a strange place this is exactly where I want to be. I’m still alone, but all of a sudden a bright flash of light illuminates the wall opposite to me. Now I can hear voices coming through the walls, and sounds of the outer world.
I’m still all alone, but now I’m not in the dark room. I’m wherever I want to be. It can be futuristic New York, at a time after the extinction of the human race; or Ancient Rome; during WW I; or in the midst of the clone attack to the confederacy planet of Geonosis. Yes, I can travel through time and space, even thou I haven’t moved a muscle.
The power of movies to me relies on the capability to transport you to different places, during a specific period of time. In my eyes, it’s basically the cheapest time machine men could have ever invented. The best part of this kind of time machine is that not everything you see is necessarily real.
Ancient ruins destroyed by catapults, being claimed back by the earth as vines and greenery grow through them. The moist morning dew feels cold as you walk barefoot through the forest surrounding the ancient castle. The whistling of the wind, rich with magic as the plants’ breath of life perfumes the air and mixes with the saltiness of the nearby ocean.
Cristal clear water where every kind of sea creatures live, beneath them corals grow upon the wreckage of an ancient Spanish boat. As barracudas, angel fish, and octopi swim past you finally see the ship. You don’t know where is up or down, the only thing you do know is that salvaging the wreckage is you mission, your life’s calling.
Dark woods in the midst of the Russian countryside, the rocky soil slashing through cloth and skin as you run away from mythical creatures. An ancient dark presence surrounds the area; a normally green lush valley is now full of death and desperation, so you run away. But as the tress pass you feel more constricted, like the forest in its dying state is absorbing you.
I’ve never been to these places, and most likely I never will but through the magic of movies I feel like I can always go there. It’s the only plane ticket that won’t cost you as much as your laptop. I know you can also watch movies in the comfort of you room, and in pajamas; but the experience of sharing the rush of emotions with other is the best.
These feeling goes back to my toddler year. My grandmother use to take me to the movies every single Friday and I try to keep this tradition alive and go as often as humanly possible. But I don’t get around to as much as I would like. This is exactly why the movie theater is my favorite place in the world.