I Love You, Cinema – The Film Magazine Team Write Love Letters to the Movies
Roses are red, film is an art;
Cinema, you have my heart!
I remember vividly the first time I sat on your red seats, treated myself to your Pick ‘n’ Mix, and got lost in your magical and mystical world. It was 2002, I was six years old, and my Dad had taken me to the Warner Cinema Multiplex in York – now a Vue Cinema – to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I explicitly remember walking in, and it was as if I had been transported to Hogwarts. The soundtrack was playing throughout the foyer, and the whole place was decorated top to bottom with Harry Potter memorabilia. It was love at first sight! The excitement I felt then has not changed seventeen years on; I still feel like a child every time I “go to the pictures”, as my grandparents used to say.
No matter which establishment I step foot in, I always feel totally and utterly in love with your décor and the atmosphere you present. I feel warm and at home in your presence. Your staff welcome me with kind smiles, butter me up with popcorn and treats, and make me feel relaxed. Whether it be a cosy sofa in an Everyman, a D-Box in Cineworld, a classic screening in a Picturehouse, or just a trip to the local Vue or Odeon, every experience is different, yet always as enjoyable and comforting. The feeling of community is always crystal clear, and I feel connected to the strangers sat around me as we take in a motion picture together – even the couple at the back who have been snogging since the trailers! The sense of togetherness fills the screen and echoes around the room as my feelings of excitement, joy, horror, sadness, bewilderment, wholesomeness, disgust and anger (to name a few) are shared with those around me.
But above all, I feel love. Relaxing with my nearest and dearest in front of a film, I feel love. Sipping on a sweet and refreshing Fanta to wash down my M&M’s, I feel love. Finally getting a sequel to one of my favourite childhood films and experiencing it on the big screen, I feel love. When Bridget Jones ran out into a snowy street in her knickers to win back Mark Darcy, I felt love. When Lady and The Tramp ate their spaghetti, I felt love. Watching ANY musical EVER, I feel love.
Although I say that you have my heart, Cinema, you actually share it with another. My boyfriend and I have found a connection through you that I have never felt with anyone else. We had a classic first date – a trip to Cineworld followed by a meal. After the film, we spent hours talking about the world of cinema and how it had impacted our lives for the better. Since then, our relationship has been built on you, Cinema, with multiple cinema trips and movie nights, which we’ve extended to other countries as we also share a dream of travelling the world. Without you, our relationship would be bland. The connection we share has grown so quickly, and the love we both share for you has encouraged our love for one another. To put it into perspective, last Valentine’s, I made him a Bladerunner-inspired origami unicorn; and we can’t go a day without quoting a film or listening to movie soundtracks! So, in a way, I love you Cinema, but I also thank you for bringing me and my soulmate together. Without you, I could not have found love like this.
Happy Valentine’s my love,
Your not-so-secret-admirer,
Beth x
