Yes! Seeing "Anora" on The Big Screen

Sometime last year the movie “Anora” — which would go on to win Best Picture and other Oscars two weeks ago — was very briefly available for our viewing pleasure in movie theaters. After it vanished, for months it was strictly pay-for-it-to-stream-it at home. Until now. Because it won all those Oscars, it has returned to many theaters to be seen as the filmmakers intended.

I missed “Anora” in the theaters last year and resisted paying to watch it at home. You see, I like movie theaters. I much prefer seeing a movie in, yes, a movie theater. These days that’s not so easy.

And when Sean Baker, who directed “Anora” and won an Oscar for doing so, gave his passionate endorsement of the theater experience in his acceptance speech, I resolved to follow his advice.

This is what Baker said to the world: “Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen. I know I will. Distributors, please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your films. Parents, introduce your children to feature films in movie theaters and you will be molding the next generation of movie lovers and filmmakers. And for all of us, when we can, please watch movies in a theater and let’s keep the great tradition of the moviegoing experience alive and well.”

Baker later lamented the loss of hundreds of movie screens during the pandemic. “We continue to lose them regularly. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of our culture.”

We have seen this happen, painfully, in my hometown of New Haven. The New Haven Criterion, which had offered multiple screens downtown, went dark more than a year ago. This left my city, known for its arts scene and the artistic offerings of Yale University, without a movie theater. Now we’re forced to drive to the suburbs if we want to see a movie on the screen.

This is happening all across America, where last year movie theater attendance again went down. But wait, vive la France! According to the New York Times, there has been a revival of movie-going in Paris. The Times reported this celebration “was infused with a very French idea about citizens’ moral obligation to support the arts and to do so somewhere other than at home. The Institut Lumiere declared that last year’s French admissions numbers amounted to a triumph over both the pandemic era and the ‘invasive digital civilization’ of scrolling and swiping.”

“Going to the cinema remains unique, singular, precious,” the Institut said. “Personal, physical, sentimental. It allows for re-appropriation of a way of being in the world that nothing can ever prevent.”

Last weekend, amid talk of how “Anora” had cleaned up on Oscar night, several of my friends told me they had watched the film — at home. They paid $5.99 to stream it via Amazon Prime video.

My loathing of Amazon was another reason to boycott its at-home videos and head out to a movie theater. That’s what my wife and I did this week. We lit out for the Madison Cinema.

It felt like a radical act — driving 20 miles on a Tuesday night to go to a movie theater. But I was psyched. I’ve been going to that theater on the Boston Post Road in this shoreline town since I was a kid. I saw “Bye Bye Birdie” there and many Disney films. It’s cozy, intimate.

It didn’t surprise me to see there wasn’t a line to get in. After all, it wasn’t even a weekend and most people who wanted to see “Anora” had opted for the cheaper, more convenient method: Amazon.

I will admit I was taken aback by the price of a ticket for a senior at the Madison theater — $12.25. And so yes, I see why so many people have gone Amazon. But frankly, I can afford to pay the extra money as a sort of charitable contribution, doing my part to keep a movie theater running. I believe plenty of other people can afford it too. If enough of us do it, a place like Madison can avoid what has befallen us in New Haven.

My wife and I bought our two tickets, declined buying popcorn, soda, etc. and headed in to see this acclaimed film. By the time the coming attractions were over and the opening credits began to roll, a grand total of 11 of us were in there together.

This was a fun experience, a rare treat, as we don’t often find in theater listings a movie we feel like seeing. There she was, the sexy and captivating Anora, (Oscar winner Mikey Madison) up on that big screen! It’s a wild and often funny movie. When we laughed, we heard other people laughing nearby. There’s your communal experience.

Sure beats sitting at home.