Last night, there were two more or less unique movies we wanted to see. There was ‘Upload Cinema: the Art of the Webcam’ which is very ’2010′. And then there was ‘La Prissionniere’ or ‘His Captive’. A movie from the 1960s about modern art, but above all about sadomasochism. After we picked up our tickets for Upload Cinema at de Uitkijk, we went down to the Filmmuseum for La Prissionniere.

After a short stroll via Leidseplein and Vondelpark, we arrived at the Filmmuseum, to find out our Cineville cards had been put on hold, as we already picked up tickets for the other show later that night. The lady at the register told us the people at de Uitkijk shouldn’t have sold the tickets already, and that she couldn’t accept the cards now. As I wanted to see the film anyway, and it only aired that night and the night before, I decided to just pay for the tickets. With a student discount, that set us back 13 euros.

The movie however, was superb and absolutely worth the money we paid. I’ve heard a lot of people praise ‘The Secretary’ for the way it portrays BDSM, including myself, but La Prissoniere is completely different. Better. It’s strength lies in the subtlety of it. Without a single spanking, it beautifully captures the inner struggle of a woman newly introduced to what’s known as sadomasochism. The battle between the objectionability of being abused and humiliated one one side and giving in to the desire of submission on the other.
Aside from that, the film was probably revolutionary at the time. Throughout the movie, screenplay progresses rather fast, and with the art gallery as a backdrop, a lot of modern art is put in the film, resulting in psychedelic effects which are stunning in itself, although those suffering from epileptic attacks might not like them as much.

Next up was ‘Upload Cinema’, a monthly collection of Youtube movies ‘taken to the big screen’. This month’s theme was ‘the Art of the Webcam’, focusing on several aspects of the webcam throughout the years. As we waited for the movie to start in the cinema’s lobby, I felt like I had entered a modern-day group of (more or less) intellectuals. Most of the people attending knew each other and conversations on new media such as Twitter were ongoing while enjoying a beer. There was a very lively buzz to it all.
The screening itself was better than expected. Although I didn’t know what to expect from a series of short movies, one after the other, 40 in a row, it actually worked out fine. There was a nice mixture of humorous movies and more serious ones, and from time to time you could hear people laugh a little too soon, proof of the fact they had seen that particular movie before. After seeing this month’s show, @hecubah and I decided to go see the previous one as well, which is being shown next week in Amsterdam.

Although I tried to avoid the shopping streets wherever possible, navigating the cramped city through backstreets and alleyways, I decided to go into the Bijenkorf, which is the Netherlands’ luxury department store chain, although comparable more to German Galeria Kaufhof than to famous ‘sister’ KaDeWe in Berlin or Harrod’s in London.

Inside the Bijenkorf store, their spring sale was ongoing. The ‘Maffe Marathon’ or Mad Marathon, which is the spring-version of the ‘Three Daft Days’, made sure the store was packed with people. I battled through, however, avoiding crowded elevators and escalators and made my way up to the fourth floor via the good old staircase instead. Walking through the ‘living’ department I came across a pair of glasses I had to buy.

For ‘just’ 12 euros I bought two glasses shaped like oil barrels with a ‘radioactive’ symbol displayed on them. As the box already suggested, it looks wonderful in green and I couldn’t help but imagine drinking Absinthe-based drinks from them. After convincing @hecubah we needed them, we headed home with our new glasses, which I’ve finally got to use today. Don’t they look awesome?

I like some historic awareness in a movie, I like it to be more than a made-up story. The basic storyline of many movies is quite similar and I even often fail to tell one movie from the other. When a movie is on tv, I often revert to my girlfriend to find out if I’ve seen a movie before, or not. I tend to mix up names and think I’ve seen that particular movie, or at least part of it.

Sadly though, it’s hard to come by a good, well-equipped ‘arthouse’ movie theatre. They often have just one ‘screen’, which limits them to one or two films a night, and in effect limiting the possibilities for beverages and snacks. In Sittard, I once had to satisfy myself with coffee, tea or soda in a way the local bingo night serves coffee, tea and soda. Even that will not keep me away from a movie theatre, though, as it’s the film what it’s all about, but being able to get that something extra certainly helps my desire to go back to a particular film theatre to grow.

When Hecubah and I went to Aachen last week, we decided we wanted to see a movie as well. Two months earlier, we wanted to see ‘Das Weiße Band’, but opted for ‘Berlin 36′ instead due to more convenient screening times. The Apollo theater we went to wasn’t bad, at all, but screens mostly mainstream movies. ‘Das Weiße Band’ was, sadly, already cancelled so we decided to opt for a movie in Maastricht instead, which we have to pass through on our way from Aachen anyway, as we both refuse to watch a non-German movie in German cinemas. They’re more often than not dubbed.

Lumiere, Maastricht

Looking up show times for Maastricht, I found out that ‘Das Weiße Band’ might be cancelled in Germany, it was screening in Maastricht’s Lumière arthouse cinema, one of the country’s few A-class arthouse cinemas, according to Hecubah. Once we got there, I was stunned by the building. Located in an old factory building right in the city centre of Maastricht, Lumière looks like it does not cater to the mass, but to those who embrace what’s left when the masses abandon things, like the building itself. It screens films that might not be popular by the masses, but are worthy of showing anyway.

When we entered the hall our film would be screened in, I was stunned, again. Only four rows of seats with eight seats each. Neither does this feel like mass entertainment, as the large cinemas do, nor does it have the massive amounts of empty seats making you feel like it doesn’t matter if you pay or not: the film will be screened for a lot of empty seats regardless. With 27 of the 28 seats occupied, ‘Das Weiße Band’ wasn’t hugely popular, but that didn’t matter. This room was designed for such small groups of people.

The film itself was stunning. Set in the 1940s, it’s shot entirely in black and white whereas the full-color-era actors manage to get their part across, even in black and white. The takes you along n the story, and actually adds to the storyline. All in all a great work by . After the film, it struck me how many people were going back to the bar to enjoy a beer or coffee. Whereas most cinemas are large enterprises, trying to program movies in a way they will attract as many customers as possible, regardless of who they are, Lumière seemed more of a group of people, getting together to have a good time, and watch a film together, every now and then. Next time I visit Maastricht, I’ll be sure to look up Lumières program again.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/franklinheijnen/
CC BY-SA 2.0

Tonight, I will be seeing something of a totally different league, though. I’ve got tickets to see Avatar together with Hecubah in Amsterdam’s largest cinema. On Amsterdam’s largest (IMAX) screen. And in 3D. This, however, will not be a matter of watching a movie. I am just curious about what modern technology can do for a film. What it can add to old filming techniques. As the most expensive movie ever made, I’ve certainly got my expectations set high for the special effects and 3D technology.

The best part of my time was then spent finding a place of my own. Desperate to find a room as soon as possible, I didn’t limit my search to Amsterdam, where I study, but broadened my search to include places nearby, up to an hour away by public transport: Utrecht, Amstelveen, Zaandam, Hilversum. Luckily the company where I work has branches throughout the country, and getting transferred to a different branch shouldn’t be a problem; in fact, they’ve expressed a wish to transfer me elsewhere before. When I still hadn’t find something after a month, I decided to look into housing in Almere as well. Not known as a welcoming city, I had never thought my search in Almere to be either serious or successful.

As irony had its way, it was Almere which offered me a serious chance on a place of my own. At 460 euros all inclusive, I’d have 25 square meters of my own, a huge shared living room and all facilities shared. At just 5 minutes walking of the main train station. To call it mine I’d just have to be the first to let the landlord know. As I was the first person to look, and the only one that day, I seized the opportunity and confirmed the deal the next morning. Within a few weeks, I would be able to put an end to weeks of ‘staying over’ and ‘visiting my parents’ and go home again. Although I was still not looking forward to living in Almere, the thought I could be in Amsterdam’s city centre in under half an hour, including the walk to the train station, convinced me Almere wasn’t that bad, to live for a few years. Journey time was even less than from Amsterdam’s outer boroughs to the city centre.

With the move I was set back from living on my own for five years to sharing all facilities with a phenomenon that’s new to me: housemates. I’ve lived with my parents, on my own and together with my (now ex-) girlfriend, but this was a first. Although I was a little afraid it would be disastrous, it turned out not to be so bad at all. Sure, I get along better with some of the housemates than some of the others, but as I’m able to retreat to my own room, I still did not have any issues with any of them.

There’s Q and R*. I feel I connect best with the two of them. Listening to metal they’re the most alternative of the lot. And regardless of whether one’s a result of the other, they’re crazy, outgoing. Not pretentious. The only thing they do truly care about, is showing others they love each other. Besides, love and joy is the only thing they seem to need in their lives. Q’s working in a game shop and, although the pay’s bad, finds joy from his job, everyday.

W and D* are a completely different story. Instead of metal, it’s hardcore, or perhaps other sorts of similar music that rocks their boat. In sheer contrast to my expectations of most of the people listening to such music, W works at an opera house, working on all kinds of decorations. D* is still a student, while working a few hours a day at a local supermarket. Perhaps the fact W works at the opera house shows these two are more aware of the world beyond their music, as I generally tend to expect from hardcore-fans. Although I find myself struggling to get on with what I was doing when I get involved in a conversation with W, they are friendly people.

Due to his harsh Amsterdam accent, I found it hard to talk to J at first, but a few weeks later, he doesn’t seem so bad either. Listening to largely the same music as do W and D*, his oddity is his love for fish. With a large quarantine aquarium to grow new fish in the shared living room and an even larger display aquarium in his own room, fish truly are his ‘thing’. What certainly improved my thoughts on him was him asking if he could try one of my coffees, after hearing me getting on with grinding beans, frothing milk and such. I still haven’t gotten around to making him one, though.

Lastly, there’s P, whom only recently moved in to the house. As far as I know, he hasn’t yet spent the night here, but has been working on getting his furniture in and set up over the past weekend. He’s moved to Almere from the east of the country so seeing his girlfriend whom lives in Almere is easier.

All in all, I’m not living in an ordinary student house. Not only do people actually clean – more or less. Most of my housemates aren’t students anymore, but instead are working. The reason they’re renting a small room in a house differs, but we all, myself included, seem to be there until something better comes along, as affordable living space is hard to come by, waiting time for social housing starts at five years and money is hard to come by.

On Thursday, December 17, snow put a hold to the entire country within a few hours. As around 10 centimeters of snow fell within a few hours, traffic came to a halt. Trains stopped running due to points becoming inoperable by snow jamming moving parts. Road traffic experienced delays as the roads became slippery. My colleagues started worrying whether I’d make it to work, but my train was one of the last still running, albeit a few minutes delayed. Soon a lot of people trying to get home got stuck at Utrecht’s train station. And everyone got hungry or thirsty eventually, which meant that, on one of my first shifts, conditions were far from normal. The store and the rest of the station was full of people, whilst queues at the register were as long as queues could be. In a way, this made my shift fairly easy: put everyone behind their register and be as fast as you can. To avoid getting stuck along the way myself, I slept at my girlfriend’s that night, who lives in Utrecht. With city buses running normally, I didn’t experience any delays.

The week after, I was forced to cancel two appointments. The first, dinner with a friend, was cancelled out of fear of not getting home afterwards. With snow still falling, the railway company advised people not to travel if possible, as they were unable to guarantee arrival at your destination. I had to cancel the other appointment, my little nephew’s birthday party, as I had hardly slept the night before when I couldn’t get home after work. With an emergency timetable in effect, the last connection from Utrecht to Almere got cancelled without an alternative. To avoid getting stuck somewhere along the route, I decided to walk to my girlfriend’s house and sleep there, even though she was staying at my place. After three hours of sleep I walked back, carefully making my way through deep snow and over icey roads, to the train station and got home with two additional changes and 30 minutes additional journey time on a direct, 40 minute train ride. I didn’t think I’d live through another twice 2-hour train journey and a screaming 5-year-old nephew that day.

Instead of going to the dinner I decided to go outside and enjoy the snow while it lasted. As trains were running according to an emergency timetable, with just two all-stations services on every line, and many additional changes necessary, I opted for the bus which would take me directly to Hilversum as I noticed all buses to be running. After forty minutes of waiting on a bus that should run every 30 minutes, it seemed my bus line was the only one not running due to snowy conditions, which then forced me to hop on a train after all. Instead of the woods near Hilversum, I got out of the train at Baarn, thereby avoiding an additional change of trains. After I had called Hecubah to meet me at Baarn rather than Hilversum, I walked into the snow-covered woods, something that’s rarely to be seen in the Netherlands in recent years. I was glad I was wearing army-style boots, as sneakers would have resulted in wet and cold feet within minutes. After walking around for half an hour, Hecubah called she had arrived at the train station. We met up at restaurant De Generaal for a hot drink, as we would have missed our twice hourly train by a few minutes anyway.

After nearly a week of heavy snowfall, it seemed that people had gotten used to the chaos that resulted of it. Less people were passing through Utrecht’s main station and those who did were calm, even though only one in four trains was running. After a week of very limited train service and an advice not to travel whenever possible, most of the trains were finally reinstated, but still, a month on, not all trains are running. Although I’m sure the past month has not been economically good for the country, I can say I absolutely loved the snow, the change of scenery and wouldn’t mind some more snow in the months to come!

Yesterday should’ve been an exception to that. The house already was reasonably clean, I didn’t have to go to work the week before, and on top of that, the trip only lasts three days. But I suppose a ritual cannot be easily broken. The final packing and the last bits of cleaning were postponed, and postponed again. We had our minds set at getting into bed at 10 pm, allowing a massive seven hours of sleep.

Instead, I was really busy cleaning at 10 pm, and still had to clean the bathroom, get some loose stuff off the floor to avoid kitty puke on it upon our return. Still, we managed to tear our ritual apart a little further. Although we were about an hour and half behind on our desired schedule, we managed to get in bed before midnight. And that, actually, was a first. A welcome change from falling asleep at two, and being woken by an alarm at four.