let me tell you about that time I went back to the cinemas in 2021

It's the end of 2021, and this is usually the time for the yearly wrap up. But this time, it's going to be a little different.  I write this because 2021 (and to an extent, 2020) wasn't the most normal of years in terms of film-going. There's still a virus going on, and if this blog survives long past my death (c'mon Google do your thing) it might serve as some sort of historical record of the time.

But before all that (the favorite and unfavorite lists will probably come out tomorrow at the least) I'd like to tell you about how I returned to the cinemas for the first time in 20 months.

First of all, let's talk about the end.

The community lockdown was to begin on the 15th of March, 2020. A little bit before that, cinemas started to close, and I managed to watch one final film before everything shut down. At the end of that movie, I started getting a little emotional - not (just) because of what I was watching, but because I know that this would be the last time I'd watch a movie for a long time. Considering the people handling the pandemic response, my hopes weren't high that this lockdown would end anytime soon. Boy, was I right.

Almost 2 years later, the lockdown technically hasn't ended. But something happened around November 2021: cases started going down. I'm not sure why, since people were going out more than ever, but it was a thing, and suddenly cinemas started opening again. Even then, cinemas were still a risk in my mind, as the risk of getting infected would never get to absolute 0%. If I were to watch a movie in cinemas I was going to be strategic about it.

Let's now talk about the beginning.

The perfect opportunity came when I learned of a little film called Caught in the Act, directed by Perry Escaño of Sikreto ng Piso and Ang Guro Kong Di Marunong Magbasa fame. I figured no one would be watching the film (I was right) so I wouldn't be catching any virus from anyone (if anything, I'd get it from the mall on the way to the cinema). I went into a completely empty cinema house and sat down at the very front, just like old times.

The movie sucked (I'll tell you all about it one day) but damn I missed this shit. I looked back at the projector room, then back at the credits. I've watched so many films in cinemas and for just a little moment it felt like before 2020 again.

Since then I've seen one more film in the cinemas, and I'll tell you about that in the next post. In any case, it feels good being in cinemas again. It won't last the way things are going right now. Heck, it might take us until 2023 before cinemas open again like this. But for now, I'm okay.

Okay, time to wrap this shit up.