An outdoor movie, San Francisco style!

I picked up the free daily Rotterdam newspaper and discovered an outdoor movie festival going on, for the next 10 days, in the newly renovated Museumpark on the other side of town. I asked my Dutch neighbor about it and she said that every year the Pleinbioscoop is always a fantastic time. Elliot and I checked out the movie schedule and decided to see Somewhere, the new Sofia Coppola movie. It's set in Hollywood, so we thought it'd be nice to reminisce the warm California weather and hip LA lifestyle. Doors opened at 7pm, and the movie started at 9:30pm. We arrived by bike around 8:30pm, got our 3€ tickets and 1€ folding chair, and found two nice aisle-side seats. In true Dutch style, everyone lined up their chairs in a neat, orderly and systematic fashion. Love it!

The setup of the plein seemed like you're typical drive-in style, but the atmosphere screamed San Francisco SOMA-esque industrial chic: the silverscreen was surrounded by numerous old trailers and converted shipping containers-turned-cafes and restaurants, even a short-film movie theatre with velvet curtains and plush red velvet seating. Each container was topped with unique sets of dim-lit lamps, creating a cozy atmosphere.

We'd brought a few blankets, beer, and borrelhapjes (little snacks), so after exploring the containers serving local brews, fresh roasted coffee, and organic potato fries over salad, we settled in to our spot. Just as we were all wrapped up, we noticed a few hipsters dragging a cute wagon decked out with candles and ringing a small bell to attract customers. They were selling cored, peeled, and sliced apples, topped with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins. For 1€ each, we bought two. They were delicious!

The movie was interesting, definitely a Coppola with similar sentiments of Lost in Translation...obscure comedy and single standing shots where the camera rarely moves, counterbalances emotional characters whose personalities tend towards elusive, impulsive behavior in their melancholic, complex lives. 


It was really good, and made us miss California.

Well I had such a great time, I convinced a couple girlfriends to go to the Friday night movie, True Grit. it was twice as packed and twice as warm out, which made the evening even better--except when we had to move our chairs forward ten steps in unison. It was worth it, though, to hear the crowd yelling, "Neeeeeeeee" ('no') to the announcer. No hipsters selling apples tonight, but the classic Western made up for it! And Jeff Bridges' character was great! And I didn't even recognize Matt Damon! 


Super fun movie experience!