Losing time at the movies

Opportunities to see films in Victoria must be snatched, because, unlike in Hades, they are unlikely to say more than a week or so. I guess too many Victorians are outside, enjoying the temperate weather.

One place to go to catch a movie before it disappears is the Cinecenta at the University of Victoria. While it's always spooky to return to UVic, which, for me, is littered with memories, the actual auditorium is completely unchanged, so I can almost imagine going back in time - except that I now found myself surrounded by grey-haired people. The current students were, no doubt, holed up in their dormitories, apartments, basements, and bedrooms, streaming stuff on their devices.

When I was a student here, films were usually well-attended by a young audience, many avoiding their homework - like me. The films were never first-run - they often are now - but usually art-house classics: King of Hearts, Bedazzled, Women in Love, The Seventh Seal.

After watching the film in the hard seat that, at least, discourages the movie-goer from nodding off (that much hasn't changed), I emerged, blinking, into the lobby, where I was flung into the present. The concession is very much fancier than I remember, and there's a dental clinic just down the hall. The washrooms are huge.

A lady was rescuing popcorn bags from the trash.
"This drives me crazy," she told me briskly. "They're perfectly recyclable!"
And she tucked them into the paper recycling bin.

It's been several years, but I guess some people just never left.