Classy Cinemas

#1 Screen

Since moving to Weimar, I’ve always known Weimar to have two movie theaters: a branch of the national theater chain, Cinestar, and a local cinema, mon ami. The former specializes in the wide Hollywood releases, the later specializes in… err… honestly I no longer remember, I think foreign films.

After a local expatriate commenter, Michele J., contacted me, she suggested we watch a film at the Lichthaus Kino.

Which I’d overlooked.

It’s Weimar’s third movie theater, housed in the old streetcar depot, catty-corner from the Weimar Atrium. The depot is below street level so it’s hard to see from the busy streets, and easy to overlook.

Since I’d never heard of it, I quizzed one of my local friends who told me that it’s a quirky theater, with two screens. She described it as a two-screen oddity, one with couches, one with more traditional seating. I was then cautioned that in the winter the heating system is noisy, something I sort of stored in the back of my mind.

Actually I promptly forgot it.

So after Michele and I consulted the Lichthaus Kino website, we made a choice, and an appointment to meet at the entrance this past Wednesday.

I might note, for the record two facts:

First, it was below freezing, a salient fact relevant for considering the heating system.

Secondly, we were off to see The Muppets Christmas Story.

We met at the old entrance to the Kino—the one with signs pointing at it, until we got to the door which had an arrow pointing a long trip to what seemed to be right around the corner—but in reality the sign was misleading and additional signage was lacking—but we found the actual door, entered, and paid our 6€.

The movie was in Kino 1, the one with three rows of couches up front and three rows of more traditional seats in the back.

At first Michele and I thought about sharing a couch, but the furthest one back looked like it was several centuries old with stains to match, so we opted for two comfortable easy chairs. The immediate advantages and disadvantages of where we chose to sit were not readily obvious.

Except for the fact that the heating system was overhead, in front of us.

I took off my top two layers—a sweater and my jacket and settled down to enjoy the film, putting my hands behind my head. Promptly putting them out of range of the heat.

The film started and since it’s an independent theater we saw no previews and no commercials—absolutely fantastic. Except for the fact we were too close to the screen. That said, I’m not even sure that had we been sitting in the back, unheated, row that we would have been far enough back.

The film had seven guests, including the two of us—a surprisingly low number considering the thematically appropriate time for the film, the kid-friendly show time, and relatively low pricing.

The Lichthaus Kino was fun, but I think I’ll stay away until the weather warms—and for now the temperatures are even lower than Wednesday.