阿凡达 = Avatar

Tonight, I saw my first movie in a Chinese movie theater. 阿凡达 (ā fán dá). And it was all in Chinese.

While I do feel like the movie itself was excellent, I think more significant for me was that I feel like the entire experience was excellent. Here are some reflections...

Watching a Movie In Chinese

At first, we were a little hesitant about whether we would be able to track with everything going on. Maybe this is because of Bethany's experience watching Up back in August. But fortunately, the plot for 阿凡达 was not all that intricate (actually, I would give it a 9.5 on a 10-point scale for predictability). This meant we were able to anticipate the storyline, and so, anticipate the dialogue content. That, coupled with a semester of good language study, meant we were able to understand most of what we were listening to during the movie. A huge encouragement!

Watching a Movie in a Chinese Theater

This is, from what I hear, the nicest movie theater in our city. And it is really nice... clean, comfy seats, good sound system. You wouldn't even know that you were in a movie theater in a different country. Except for a few things.

First, pre-assigned seating. You choose your seat when you buy the ticket (our friend went early in the morning today and waited for 40 minutes just to buy tickets!).

Second, there was no pre-movie commercial that told everybody to turn off their cell phones and not talk during the movie. There wasn't a lot of talking during the movie, and I counted maybe only half a dozen cell phone rings through the movie. Oh, and the guy sitting next to me did actually answer his cell phone and talk (as quietly as he could) for about 30 seconds. But maybe we're just used to that being how this culture is. And so, it didn't bother us. Actually, I was pretty pleased that it was as quiet and cell phone-free as it was.

Watching a Movie in 3D

We paid a little bit extra for the 3D showing (ticket cost: ~USD $9), and used special 3D glasses and everything. Well worth it. The movie was beautiful. Bethany said that this 3D showing was way better than the showing of Up in this theater a few months ago.

What was particularly striking for me how people around us were constantly oooh-ing and ahhh-ing at the beautiful scenes in the movie, and some of the 3D special effects. I noticed their oohs and ahhs, I think, because we don't do that so much in the States anymore. We're so used to our movies, and we have such high standards for these things, even the really good ones don't make us ooh and ahh all that much anymore.

But for people here, I don't know that they get to see movies like this (and in this way) all that often. Most likely, most of them will never go to Disneyland and ride Star Tours - but they would be blown away if they did. They will likely never see an IMAX theater, let alone see a movie in one. They'll probably never see Les Mis at the Pantages, or Cirque at the Bellagio.

It was enjoyable for me to experience having people around me enjoy their experience and really appreciate the beauty of the movie.

Watching a Movie as a Foreigner in a Foreign Land

Without giving away too much about the movie (though what I say here you could glean from any trailer), a major subject in this movie has to do with being an outsider and throwing yourself into a foreign, alien culture. Beyond just learning their language... learning their culture. Learning about how they communicate and what they value and how they connect with one another. Learning about how they see nature or family or life or death.

I felt like this particular aspect of the movie was one with which I immediately connected - in a way that nobody else in the theater did or could (besides Bethany and one other friend of ours)... because right now, we are outsiders immersed in a foreign culture. That aspect, and that especially, is what made this movie experience an excellent one.