Cultural backwaters

This was going to be an edit to my previous entry but grew to big, so I’m making it an entry of its own. Enjoy.

Why do I have to live in the cultural backwater that is Middlesbrough? Why?

As you guys know I am a huge fan of the Millennium trilogy. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I really REALLY want to see the film based on the first book. Especially as everything I heard was about how close they stuck to the book and how faithful it was to the spirit of the book.

Well, it was released over here last week. Nowhere in Boro showing it. I decided to wait till this week to see if anywhere got it in on Friday.

Guess what?

The nearest place to me showing it is in Newcastle. Now, this is good news in that the ticket for the film will only cost me £1 (special discount as I’m on JSA). Sadly getting there will cost me £10. I refuse to pay £11 just to see a film.

The nearest thing we have to an art house cinema is going to be showing it. Mid April (actually, I think it’s nearer the end of the month). A full month after release.

I did break down and download it. Which only made me want to see it on the big screen even more. (BTW it is one of the best thrillers I’ve seen in a while. And everything I read about it being close to the book is true.)

This happens all the time. If there is an art house/subtitled film showing in one of the main cinemas in Boro it’s generally on for one week, screening once a day, usually the last showing. Sometimes they even just show them for one screening. Which is fine is it’s part of a series (which is how I saw Gozu) but otherwise it’s annoying. And they probably justify this by saying that the films are not that popular.

But that’s circular logic. The reason the films aren’t that popular is because they are barely on. It’s the same as the Students Union claiming that they shut the bar during the summer cos they won’t make enough money to justify opening it.

If they don’t try showing these films with more screenings a day then how do they know if it would be more successful or not? All indications are that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo will do very well at the box office this week. Let’s face it, it’s not a hard sell, based on a best selling novel.

Or maybe it’s the subtitle issue. You probably know my feelings on this particular subject. If you are scared of reading subtitled films (and it’s not because of something like dyslexia) you really are missing out on some amazing films. Cinema Paradiso, Pans Labyrinth, The Ring (original version), Children of God, Y Tu Mama Tambien, the list goes on.

But I’d even go and see the dubbed version of this, that’s how keen I am to see it. There is a dubbed version out there, they could get that.

Like I say, cultural backwater. There’s the Dorman museum if you ever know what’s on there, there’s MIMA which is hit and miss and apparently there is another place just across the border but buggered if I know where it is.

The Transporter Bridge is a prime example. Only working bridge of its type in Britain, the walk to it is through a very run down area. Anywhere else it would have a dedicated museum to the history of the bridge and the surrounding area. I think there is one here but, again, I’m not sure if there is or if it actually exists.

There are a few bright spots. There’s the cinema at The Arc. But that’s in Stockton so you have to take into account the cost/time it takes to actually get there which means that if you’re on a budget it’s usually not worth it. There is the start of a writing scene but it tends to be a) a bit cliquey and b) mostly centred around poetry so if you don’t like/can’t write such you fell a bit left out.

Even the AV Festival seems to have given up. Supposedly run between Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, the main thing this year was a series of short films shown on a screen in the middle of town.

When the most exciting thing culturally to happen in a while was filming an episode of Top Gear you know you may have issues.

Will