One of my favourite weekend activities in Bangkok is to watch indie films. Besides the cheaper ticket prices (100B as compared to >120B for the commercial theaters), a trip to any of the art film theaters is a walk down memory lane, particularly if one opts for the Apex cinemas (Lido/Scala/Siam) in Siam Square.
Entering Scala’s premises, one is greeted by a marble stairway that spirals up to the second floor. The cinema still features the old style of booking tickets – bored aunties sitting behind the counters will whip out A3-sized seating plans before scribbling the seat numbers and tearing the tickets from the booklets. The ushers, mostly middle-aged uncles dressed in bright yellow suit coats, will use a torchlight to beam the way to your seats. Lovely retro experience, isn’t it?
Yesterday, mr;p and I had a nice afternoon watching Departures (Okuribito) which finally opened in Thailand at Scala. It is quite a charming film and unlike Tangtang who is obsessed with the male lead playing the cello, I’m more intrigued by the Japanese ‘nokanshi’ ritual of preparing the deceased for their final journey in this world. Watch it if you haven’t.
P.S. Tangtang and piggy brother, I’ve collected the chirashis for you guys too! 
2 Comments
June 22, 2009 at 10:15 pm
loved departures! cried tons. but i thought it was a bit emotionally manipulative. haha.
June 22, 2009 at 11:50 pm
it’s an elegant film indeed, and i loved the japanese countryside landscapes. but the dutiful, cute wife is a bit unbelievable though. :p