Cinema O Rama

The first year of my primary school – I managed to claim the first spot in my school. I couldn’t remember very well how I managed to achieve that, but because of that – my father decided to reward me by taking me to a cinema.

It was the first time I ever been to a cinema and the movie that was showing at the time was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The cinema itself was a run-down Cathay (we pronounced it KokTai in Hokkien) in our small town of BM. Back in those times, we still do not have Cineplex, so the cinema was an old-fashioned building with no popcorn stalls and an old hunchback ah pek is the one who shows you your seat with torchlight. I also heard that the chair will snap your ass up if you are not careful.

My first impression was – the cinema was a cold and creepy place. My father bought a pack of corn crackers for me and we sat like 3 row from the back.

And then the movie began. The giant screen flickered to life and I was completely swept away. Somehow I got the amazing feeling of being swallowed by the screen, sucked into the world of the movie. For a kid my age at the time, I couldn’t find the words to describe what I felt. My mouth was a gaping hole where if a mosquito were to fly inside at that particular moment, it could fly straight into my stomach. I was completely awestruck.

Till this day I could still remember the story vividly. I laughed till my tummy hurt when the Chinese kid run around with his antic. I squirmed when I saw the tribe eating the monkey’s brain. I lost myself inside the movie for the entire length of the movie. I entirely forgotten about my father’s presence till when the credits rolled out and he put a hand on my shoulder, saying: “Time to go, son.”

That night Little Sean fell in love with the cinema.

*****

Over the adolescent years of my life, I tried to go to the cinema whenever I saved up enough money to afford a ticket. I didn’t get much of a pocket money, so I had to pick only movies I really like – unlike some of the filthy rich friends of mine who could go to cinema simply to watch any movies, sometimes even for multiple times.

I remembered one time I was watching a forgettable Hongkie movie with a few friends and this particular girl told me this is the third time she was watching this.

“Then why did you still wanna come?” I asked her, perplexed. “It is certainly not a very good movie.”

“Oh, I don’t mind” she said. “Just come here because you guys want to come.”

I scratched my head. If she were to say it’s because of the atmosphere of the cinema and the thrill you get when the big screen jumps at you, I would have saluted her, but clearly she just came because she had nothing better to do and too much money in her purse. It was like an abomination to the cinema – how could you treat such a significant place with such insignificance?
I myself had never been to a same movie in a cinema for more than once. Even when the Titanic mania hit us in the early 2000s, when people compared the number of times they watched that movie in cinema, I would rather scourge the internet looking for that particular chopped scene where Leonardo Di Caprio was painting Kate Winslet.

“This is the 7th times I am watching this,” one of the girl who were watching the movie with me – I was in college at the time – giggled happily and whispered to my ear. I didn’t tell her I had watched that downloaded painting scene more than 7 times.

“7 times?” one of my less illustrious college friends asked. “I would rather have sex 7 times in one night.”

“Can you?” one the girls asked, followed by a round of well-rehearsed chuckle.

At the turn of the century, technology had forced most of those old-fashioned stand-alone cinema houses out of business, replaced by the smaller Cineplex – cinema in a shopping complex with Dolby sound system; not to mention those seedy Laser disc theatres which show compromising uncut pictures. The enjoyed only a short-lived fame though after a few scandals involving people doing compromising stuffs in the theatre while watching compromising scenes.

Like an endless cycle of existence, you started working after those honeyed years in college. My fiery adoration for the cinema was still burning at the time so I joined these movie gang colleagues who go to cinema every Friday night. I wouldn’t say their choice of movie are exactly my cup of tea, but I did tag along from times to times – meeting some interesting people, some obnoxious people and some pretentious people.

Normally after these movie sessions, the movie gang would go for supper in Sri Murni at SS2 – where as expected some people would ask questions like “What do you think of the movie just now?” And where as expected you hear replies like: “Not bad, not bad,” even though I could swear I heard the guy replying snoring in the movie just now.

Well, that’s what you get when you go out with a large gang for movies. After some time, I wondered whether the real intention of that gang was to enjoy the movie at the cinema or to enjoy the close proximity of other human beings, eh, social networking I means. I couldn’t enjoy it much because instead of being overwhelmed by the big screen, I was overwhelmed by body odours and sound or people snoring.

Then the inflation hits.

People became more reluctant to go to cinema. The cineplex tried to counter by introducing Wed discounts and Ladies Nite discount, but still business was a bit slow in the times of downturn.

“It is still the best choice for dating couples,” a cineplex operator told me while we were smoking. “You know la, when you are dating in country like Malaysia, there’s not much choice of activities. Outdoor? The gals are afraid of sunburnt. Going to cinema is still the cheapest and logical option.”

I nodded in agreement, silently wondering when I would have a chance to bring a particular gal to movie for a date.

It might be difficult because the girl I had in mind was already engaged and possibly getting married early the following year. I had this infatuation about her from the first day I met her but never had the courage to tell her. She was the girl I have been looking for - but never found before. So we remained best of friends, and from times to times we would go for lunch or dinner together.

“I think the reason we have so much in common is because we both comes from a small town,” she told me once. “Plus we are both Virgos.”

“Too bad I did not meet you much earlier – before you met your fiancée,” I tried to crack a joke, but it turned out to be awkward and induced a long silence.

When I finally took her to the movie, I was nervous. It was two weeks before her marriage ceremony. If this were a normal date, I would normally choose a horror movie, so when the scary part arrived, you can pretend to calm your date or if you are lucky, you can even get to hold her. But this is not a normal date, I kept reminding myself. This is a girl who every time I see her falling I want to get down on my knees and pray – waiting for the moment when she would said the things I couldn’t say (ok, I stole this lines from the song Bizarre Love Triangle).

So we went to watch Spiderman 2. Never for once that would I expect that movie is to be so emotionally moving. I thought it was a superhero movie – but the unspoken tension between Peter and Mary Jane was played to the utmost, making the unrequited love scenes between them almost unbearable. Who would have expected a director like Sam Raimi who made the quirky and comical Evil Dead trilogy could come up with something like this? It was more like a love story than a superhero story. Especially the part when Mary Jane left her wedding altar to look for Peter – it really killed me.

We didn’t speak much on our way back. I drove her back to her home, my emotions welling up in my heart like the bubbles from a quickly poured beer.

“2 weeks from your marriage…are you nervous?”

“Very…”

Maybe I would never have the chance to say it if I didn’t say it now.

“I have a confession,” I began. “You know how much I love going to the cinema since I was a kid, right?”

“Yes,” she said. “Everybody knows that.”

“Well, to tell you frankly, tonite when I went to the cinema with you, the joy was multiplied.”

She was silent for a while. “So what are you trying to imply? We could still go to the cinemas after I’m married.”

“The truth is…” I told her. “I have always been passionate about movies and cinemas, but after I know you, I realized the passion I had for them is nothing compared to the passion I have for you.”

Another long silence.

“Oh, damn it, Sean. Why do you have to say it? I hate you so much…” she suddenly erupted. “I hate you so much because you make me like you…”

Her lips were on mine before I could say anything. Not that I would want to say anything at that moment.