First I should explain that since the times of Mussolini, Italian cinemagoers have only seen movies dubbed in Italian. The Italian dubbing artists are legendary.
Even in capitol cities like Rome or Milan it is hard to find a cinema that plays what is known as VO (Versione originale) or Original Version. This was part of Mussolini’s fascist policies. VO here means that the film is played in the original language, and only in the original language; if you don’t speak the language of the film you won’t understand the film, there are no subtitles! VO is very hard to find in Italy. Or it is playing in a tiny theater. Even so, it is part of the Italian experience. Perhaps seeing Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger speaking in Italian is sexy, but watching Chicago dubbed in Italian can be awkward and will put you ill at ease. There is something very gauche about hearing Richard Gere sing half in a dubbed voice and half in his own voice. This should not be played to minors, they will most certainly have nightmare. Nevertheless, VO is usually reserved for the premiers of “big” films, run to see them. Otherwise it will play Monday Night in one theater and somewhere else on another night.
Another little quirk in Italian cinema going that may shock the non-Italian is the fact that every film has, what is know as, “intervallo” or intermission. Yes in 2005! The intermission is compulsory in Italian Cinema. No matter how short the film. I think it might be one of the strange laws like being required to hold a receipt for 50 meters after leaving a Café. The “intervello” usually happens at some random point in the middle of the film. And is not always done gracefully. This irks me.It irks me because it breaks the flow of the movie not to mention, very antiquated. But gives all the smokers a chance to try and inhale a cigarette.
The last quirk in Italian cinema, recent albeit, (at least in Milan) is that you are , if you don’t ask, assigned a certain row and seat. What's more is that you are almost sure to get stuck in the front row. This is something that Italians intuitively know when asking for their tickets at the Box Office. It took me weeks to finally figure out why I was always in the front row. Additionaly, it has happened when even if there are just 5 people to see the film, you will most likely be seated right next to each other. There are ushers that will monitor this and the film won’t be started until the seating arrangement is resolved. This sometimes culminates into pandemonium before everyone shuffles around into his or her assigned seats.
I saw the new Harry potter film last night. It was great. I enjoyed it. However, half way through the film, the film caught on fire! Yes, on fire! This had me question if I was in a scene from the film Cinema Paradiso, in which the whole movie theater caught a blaze, sending panic and maim into the streets. I wasn’t sure if I should make a b-line for the exit or wait for order to resume. “Besides”, I weighed, “What year is it, 1923?”. Not only did I see the film melt and catch ablaze it happened the last 10 minutes of the film! Should it have happened at the beginning, it would be more forgivable, but just at the climax of the film. Just as were are on the verge of discovering the answers to the film -the best part of the film! After about ten minutes of heckling and chaos, the filmed resumed, cutting out a major part of the plot, jumping ahead a few minutes in the film. The crowd, seemingly unperturbed just shrugs it off as - che roba! - and continues on. I guess it is just a lesson at hand, and part of the charm of Italy. Should you go to a movies in Italy. Here are the guidelines:
- Expect the film to be dubbed in Italian
- If you are lucky to see it in VO, you must know the language of the film
- There will be assigned seats
- There will be an intermission
- Check for the emergency exits in case the film catches fire ;)
