Going to the movies in Switzerland is different from the US. Your ticket (which costs around 17 francs) is for an assigned seat, which I like because it means you don’t have to arrive early to get a good spot (assuming you planned ahead and got your tickets online). Before the movie you will be subjected to several commercials (many of which are played at ridiculously loud volume, just like on TV) and then a couple previews. If the movie is originally in English, it will have both German and French subtitles. And at some arbitrary point during the film, it will stop for a 10-minute intermission, during which everyone in the theater will go to the lobby, smoke 10 cigarettes, and buy a packaged ice cream of some variety. Luckily Swiss theaters are also air-conditioned, although not quite as cold as US theaters tend to be.
Yesterday I went to see 2 Days in Paris, a movie about a French-American couple who live in New York. It did a fabulous and humorous job of capturing that this-culture-is-crazy feeling that foreign countries can give you, although it did rely heavily on stereotypes of both sides to get some of the point across. Surely American tourists don’t actually wear Bush Cheney ’04 t-shirts to Paris. Right? Please tell me they don’t.
I just went to see a movie the other day and I was thinking, “this would make great blog posting material.” It’s pretty similar here to there, except we don’t get the subtitles, we’re way too lazy for that nonsense, bring on the dubbing! (Of course as you know since you lived here!)
Ok, a tourist wearing a Bush Cheney shirt to Paris is really asking for trouble, non?
i will have to check out that movie!
the theaters we go to in this part of switzerland are more american like, they dont do the reserved seating (though you still pay a lot for the ticket) and most dont have the intermission.
Please tell me Americans don’t wear Bush Cheney ’04 t-shirts period! I know I ask too much.
Shelley – I know the joys of mandatory dubbing all too well. Milan had one original-language movie per week, and it was usually some cheesy Hollywood crap that I wouldn’t watch even if I was trapped on a 10-hour flight with it. I hope Rome has better offerings (or, that you’re so used to dubbing it doesn’t phase you anymore…).
Sara – you mean the French Swiss can go 2 hours without a cigarette?
Sognatrice – I hear you. On this last trip to the US I saw a bunch of Bush Cheney bumper stickers and wondered how people could ride around with such things…
Here in Rome we only have two cinemas (that I know of – someone correct me if there are any more that I don’t know of) that show movies in the original language with subtitles. The Frenchman and I cannot bear to watch anything dubbed so we only go to these two cinemas for non-Italian films. How can anyone watched something dubbed? I don’t get it.
Love the idea of reserved seats by the way.