Film Club!

Today I choose to write about Biografklub Danmark instead of more on the immigration issues, which have been in the news of late.  Here's a preview of that: One of the major newspapers sent a team of "immigrant-looking" young men to 6 nightclubs in Copenhagen.  They were turned away by doormen at 5 of the places.  Why?  Club owners do not want too many "of those kind" in their establishments, for fear of scaring off the "100% ethnic Danes".  One of the reasons given was that these "types" of men are much more forward in showing their interest in women, which scares off the ("100% ethnic Danish") women.  Seriously.  (WHY women wearing layers-upon-layers of clothing, complete with neck-to-ankle coverage, STILL get hit on is a little beyond me - but I'll save the "lack of cleavage in Denmark" post for another time as well!)  And our favorite political party, the Social Democrats, released statements saying something about shutting down these discriminatory establishments.

But I will expand on this later.  Being turned away at a night club for the shade of one's skin actually happened to one of my Brazilian male classmates a couple of years ago.  He and his friends took the case to the Supreme Court!


For today's main topic, Biografklub Danmark (aka Denmark's Film Club).

I love this club!!!  My husband and I were members a couple of years ago, and we really enjoyed it.  To fully understand why being a member is so great, one must also know the prices of movie tickets here.  And of course like all other things in Denmark, they're Expensive!

For example, a Saturday matinee will run you 70-80 DKK ($12.12-$13.85 according to xe.com today).  A night show is 80-90 ($13.85-$15.59)DKK.  A Saturday matinee in Athens, Ohio is $5 and night show $6.50.  So you can see why I have sticker shock.  And I think that the next-door-town Nelsonville theatre had $4 for all shows, all the time (and I think also $1 small Cokes and popcorns).

The price here fluctuates depending on where you sit in the theatre.  This is another cultural difference: whereas in the States you sit any place in the theatre you damn well please, here one must also book the seating arrangements while buying the ticket.  I can see benefits with both systems, but must say that I prefer the US one more, because the seating booking system does not identify talkers, loud breathers, open-mouth popcorn chewers, nor noisy plastic-wrapped candy chompers who may be your neighbors for the expensive evening.  It only identifies which seats are already taken.

Seat booking or not, my (at least) weekly habit of going to the movies was halted immediately upon moving here.  

Fortunately there are at least two ways of seeing movies for cheap (if you are not a parent of a young child).  One is with Telia Tirsdags, where customers of Telia mobile phones can text a code and receive buy-one-get-one free on any film from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m on Tuesdays at participating locations.  The downside of this, besides for those who are not Telia customers, is that only 2000 tickets are available nationally, and they sell out fast!

Another is with Biografklub Danmark.  One pays a membership fee of 85DKK, and then receives coupons for half-off 7 already-chosen films plus 3 more Danish films. (Not necessary to take a friend along, unlike Telia Tirsdags.) These coupons can be used at any cinema, and at any showing.  Sweet!  This year's films include Hævnen; Wall Street; Eat, Pray, Love; Mao's Last Dancer; and Made in Dagenham. 

I love going to the movies, and am really glad that we have this membership now.  Athens provided a world of film experiences, quite literally.  Each week the Athena theatre in uptown Athens showcased a different Artsy or Foreign Film, which showed only on Wednesday evenings or Saturday afternoons.  The shows were almost always sold out on Saturdays, so I tried to see them on Wednesdays instead. 

See, this proves that some Americans DO appreciate foreign language films with English subtitles!

It was also home to the Athens International Film & Video Festival, which provided a week-long film extravaganza each April. I pretty much lived off popcorn during that time, as I caught as many films as possible.  Oh, to be transported to another space and time, presented in a visually stunning manner. 

Odense also has an annual Film Festival; however, I have never gone.  This is a little embarrassing to admit, especially because entrance is free!  But unlike the Athens Film Fest, this one does not show feature-length films, but collections of many shorts.  OK maybe there are one or two longer films, but they typically are not studio films.

I'm still a sucker for Hollywood glamor.  And looking forward to the Club's first film selection, Hævnen, which is translated literally as "The Revenge", but whose English title is "Civilization". (Isn't that interesting??!?) Here is the trailer, which unfortunately I cannot find with English subtitles, but find that the music and acting can give you a good idea of what the film is about anyway.  Besides that, Ulrich Thompsen is in it, and really, he is as good a reason as any to see a film!