new wave cinema

i took this photo of che's portrait at the revolutionary museum in la havana back in the summer of 2005.  seeing the first part of benicio del toro and steven soderbergh's rendition of his life was cuba revisited in 'che: l'argentin', the script of which is based on Ernesto Che Guevara's diary from the Cuban revolution, 'Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War'.  the fact is that the country's cityscape remains much the same as it was, being little if at all redeveloped since the first stages of the revolutionary victory. during my visit, the country appeared to exist and function within a perpetual timewarp that reflected not only its rulers' social ideologies but was literally represented in its tired but nonetheless preserved landscape and architecture. 

we were fortunate enough to catch one of the last screenings at le grand action on 5 rue des ecoles, 75005.  it's one of paris' old school, new wave cinema theatres, many of which can still be found in the birthplace of the movement in the 5th arrondissement, with cushy red velour lounger seats and antique film projectors that occasionally spasm the screen with flickers of visual white noise.  this suited soderbergh's black and white, hand-held documentary style cinematography well.  in fact, our choice of theatre ended up lending tremendous character to our cinematic experience, not least of which because we were in the company of only 4 others in the cosy theatre. these independent theatres celebrate films with social and political themes and retain the character, ambience and influence of the groundbreaking movement of pioneering cinematography. 

for those who seek the modern, mall experience, there is no shortage of cinema groups in paris that offer digital audiovisual screenings for the masses complete with popcorn, soda and even a coffee bar en route to their panoramic theatre rooms of imax proportions.  i watched iron man in one of these which seemed an appropriate choice of ambience. one of paris' endearing qualities is the choices it offers to its cinema buffs. there is something for everyone and nobody needs to be deprived of the freedom to choose between la nouvelle vague and modernity.  perhaps today's cuba could take a leaf out of this concept and bridge a few of its gaps for while cuba proudly succeeds in delivering top notch education and extensive medical welfare to its people, it miserably fails in delivering the basic human right of freedom of choice.