Originally published in print September 2020.
“I’m not hungry. I want to see a film,” Nana (Anna Karina) affirms, rejecting an invitation to dinner, before we see her in a cinema on Boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris, watching La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928). This third scene in Vivre sa vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962) encapsulates cinema spectatorship. Nana watches Joan of Arc’s (Maria Falconetti) face in close-up, tears falling to her upper lip. Godard’s film becomes Dreyer’s film, as our point-of-view aligns with Nana’s as she watches Joan. This cuts to Nana crying alone, silently in the darkness. The world of Godard’s film is silenced by the ‘affect’ of the human face on the big screen. Timothée Chalamet crying in the final scene of Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017) affected me similarly in the darkness of the Light House Cinema as a Fresher.
It’s important to feel familiar with these sites of pure empathy, where you may briefly wander into another character’s world. The return to cinemas is an important emotional step and a welcome privilege as we ease restrictions. Cinema spectatorship simply can’t be replicated at home. You may prefer the escapism or ‘entertainment’ aspect. You may relish the company of friends and their reactions. Some prefer to go solo, which, as you learn very quickly, isn’t as sad as it seems and offers you the luxury of getting to know yourself. If you’re new to Dublin, I present a quick guide to the city’s picture houses and cinematographs. With any cinema, I advise you to book ahead if possible, and to read their guidelines and safety measures.
The Irish Film Institute’s proximity is a gift for Trinity’s cinephiles. Nestled in an old Quaker meeting house on cobbled Eustace Street, Temple Bar, the IFI is my favourite. With important archives, a restaurant, café, bar, and shop offering you a high-quality variety of books and DVDs, it’s a calm refuge between lectures. On Mondays, the IFI offers students a ticket discount (€5.20), as well as membership for €15 instead of €20. The IFI is known for showing art films, holding premières of Irish films, its festivals (like the current IFI Documentary Festival and Horrorthon in October), guest speakers, special screenings like the annual screening of The Dead (John Huston, 1987), and showing particular cuts or formats like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019) on 35mm. With only 3 screens, it’s an intimate, pokey place. Retrospectives, like their past Robert Bresson and Alejandro Jodorowsky seasons, are personal highlights. See their website for more information.
The Light House Cinema, Smithfield seems vast compared to the IFI. Its shiny surfaces, bright colours, and tiered levels resemble a large subterranean art gallery, inspiring a feeling of celebrity as you make your way gracefully down its steps (or maybe that’s just me). With only 4 screens, a small café, and a bar downstairs, it still feels intimate. It’s an important cinema for screenings and Q&A events during the Dublin International Film Festival. With their midnight movie club (Hollywood Babylon), cult screenings, Cinema Book Club, and a dedication to showcasing domestic gems like Calm With Horses (Nick Rowland, 2020), the Light House is well-worth the Luas or 25-minute walk along the quays from Trinity. Plenty of foodie places in Smithfield and on nearby Capel Street make it ideal for dates. For more information on listings and student discounts, see their website.
Cineworld on Parnell Street is, to me at least, the most American of Dublin’s cinemas, embodied by its very own Baskin Robbins. With 17 screens, escalators, shopping mall-like levels, anti-cinema 4DX and IMAX screens, Cineworld is the perfect cinema for that particular ‘entertainment’ aspect of the hotly anticipated sci-fi or Marvel flick. A particular memory of mine is attending the midnight première of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson, 2017) as a Fresher. Another is being within arm’s length of Paul Schrader at DIFF. This duality, of screening a festival film in one room and a blockbuster in another, is Cineworld’s niche in the city. See their website for more information.
Lastly, the nearby Savoy IMC on O’Connell Street is an aesthetic and historic pleasure. With the Volta, Ireland’s first official cinema (1909) spearheaded by James Joyce, no longer standing on Mary Street, the Savoy is a time capsule on Ireland’s main thoroughfare. To me, the Savoy is as close to Nana’s Parisian cinema in Vivre sa vie as I can get to. With its posh-sounding name, art deco feel, red carpets, chandeliers, and high ceilings, it’s a modest opera house. As Dublin’s oldest functioning cinema (1929), the Savoy has changed just as much as the surrounding city, altering its shape and size to accommodate innovations like sound, CinemaScope, and 3D, and its changing Dublin audience. Currently closed, the Savoy’s future is precarious, and has been for a long time. However, with blockbusters, awards season films, and a competitive student discount, the Savoy is worth it, regardless of your friends’ sighs.
