The truth is that it's a difficult answer; I remembered the old Greek movies - comedies mostly - that my family and I used to go to outdoor cinemas to watch. (In Greece, we call them therina -that means summer cinemas)
Ah, those outdoor cinemas... with the director's chairs lined up next to each other, the gravel on the ground instead of concrete to keep it cool, the sky above your head with all the stars and the moon... and a subtle scent of jasmine filling the space. (almost all outdoor cinemas in Greece have jasmine plants)
I remembered the films that made me deeply love cinema, when in the darkened, dimly lit, hall my friends and I were whispering comments about the play.
But I'll talk about them another time.
The film that I think rocked my childhood and was the transition from a child viewer to an adolescent cinemafanatic was the first film I watched without my parents, without my brother, alone in the cinema, (well, not completely alone, with a classmate).
But let's take things from the beginning...
I was about 14-15 years old when a classmate of mine, Manos, asked me out. As a date. To go to the cinema with him. Alone. (I don't know if you can understand what I was feeling, but butterflies were flying in my stomach, above my head, all over me 😍).
So after Ι said yes, we agreed to meet outside the cinema hall. I didn't know what movie we would see. I didn't care. All I thought that I was going to the movies with Manos (did I mention that I was going alone, with no chaperone? Oh, I have? Doesn't matter. Let's say once more. ALONE)
So, the big day came and Manos and I met outside the cinema hall. And there, next to the door was the poster of the movie that we were going to watch.
My Girl! At first, I thought that Manos made a bad choice, because in my head this film was for children only (little did I know). But then, I saw the title again and it crossed my mind that there was a hint that Manos wanted me to be his girl(friend). How romantic!
So, we walked into the theater, we sat down and the movie starts.
I don't know if you've seen the movie or if you know the plot. It's a film about young Vanda's coming of age through various sad incidents that occur during the crucial summer between the ages of 11 and 12. Young Vanda struggles with her guilts, hangs out with her friend Thomas J., gets her first kiss, gets her first romantic disappointment, loses persons, precious to her, gets a new mother...
Young girl Vanda in that summer turns into a young teenager.
To tell you the truth, at first I was too nervous to watch the film. In my head I was making scenarios what to say to Manos. And if we're being honest, I was mostly sneaking glances at the face of the boy sitting in the seat next to me.
Until at one point he asked me, "Do you like the movie?" and I hurriedly mumbled "it's good", turning my head towards the screen to start watching.
At first I was lost. Until I got the gist of what was happening in the film, it took a while, but then I started to immerse myself in the story. I laughed at Vanda and Thomas' antics, I was worried when I saw the beehive scene about what would happen next, I was touched when Vanda and Thomas had their first kiss.
Perfect moment, you might say, for a kiss between two people on a date! Of course it was perfect, but someone (Me that is ) was so engrossed in the movie that didn't even turn around to look at Manos again.
And when the scene with Thomas' death arrived, the tears kept rolling down my face and I started crying so hard inside the theater. Especially in the funeral scene when Vanda, crying in front of Thomas's coffin, repeated "Put on his glasses, he can't see without his glasses", Manos took me in his arms, trying to comfort me, to make me stop crying. (maybe the whole theatre audience might have ask him to)
He handed me a tissue, I wiped my tears, blew my nose loudly and stayed in his arms to calm down.
The relatively happy ending of the movie relieved me of all the tension. The lights came on and we exited the theater.
Manos walked with me for a while and then bid me farewell by giving me a kiss on the cheek. But I didn't mind. I had acquired a new love and I didn't care that Manos didn't want me to be his girlfriend.
Even today, watching that movie brings tears to my eyes. I know you might say that it's not one of the best movies. Some may say that it is just a Hollywood film and has no artistic merit.
But what I learned from this film is that cinema fills you with emotions, engulfs you in the story it narrates and makes you an integral part of it.
Cinema creates new worlds and invites us to get lost in them.
This film opened that door to me. From that movie, I started going to the cinema once a week, to watch the new movies. To see other countries, other civilizations, other dimensions sometimes. And it's a habit that stills goes on.
That's why I love this film.
PS. Hey, Manos, if you read this, I'm sorry for crying on your shoulder and getting your shirt wet. It may not have been meant for the two of us, but I owe you a pack of tissues.
Thanks for reading!
