Going to the Movies

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Last Monday, Clare, Audrey, Maria and I planned to go to the Chengdu Modern Art Museum. But after a bit of Googling, we realized that the museum was pretty far outside the city... possibly not even there. Anyway, we couldn't figure it out, so we decided to go to a movie instead. No particular movie. Just a movie.

Once we got to the theater, we asked for tickets to the next movie that was playing: Gongfu Wingchun. We bought snacks and climbed up the stairs to the third floor. Our tickets came with free sodas, so they drew those for us. Then we tried to sit in our theater, but the attendants wouldn't let us. They had us sit in the lounge and rest for a little bit.

Five minutes to movie time, we realized our tickets did not have theater numbers on them. Audrey asked the attendant what was up. She led us to a theater in the back, with no number, and three rows of sofas. We were the only people there. I think we had ordered a private showing. For four dollars each. That doesn't happen in the US.

The movie was hilarious: a kungfu drama/comedy/romance about a girl working in her father's tofu shop. The plot was a lot like an American romance, but the characters never even kissed. They just hugged and cried and held hands a lot. It had English and Chinese subtitles.

On the way out we bought tickets for the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

On Thursday, after US-China Relations class, I met Clare, Audrey, Maria, Kaia and Joanna, and we went to the theater around 11:30. No waiting in line, because at Chinese theaters they assign seats. We wouldn't have had to wait in line anyway, because there were empty seats. Woh! There are never empty seats at the HP premiere in the US.

Half of the audience was students from the overseas student school. The rest of the overseas students were at other theaters. All of the Chinese people in the theater stared at us while we laughed and chatted and had a good time. A man behind me chowed down on a big stick of sugar cane, or bamboo, or something. I ate pocky. The popcorn at this Chinese theater tastes like caramel corn.

The movie started fifteen minutes late, but it was still wonderful. The Chinese subtitles were a little distracting. We would laugh, and then everyone else would laugh about a half minute later. All of the Chinese girls gasped when Harry took his shirt off. Ew. And some of the subject matter reminded us of Communist government. The Ministry of Magic distributed propaganda, and interrogated witches and wizards, and-- wow-- I sound like a nerd right now. Anyway, it was good. I want to see it again very soon. And I am excited for the dvd stands outside the classroom building to sell it.

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Photos

Maria
eating pocky