{"id":1002,"date":"2026-08-21T08:53:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2026-08-19T20:59:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T20:59:26","slug":"cinemateca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/?p=1002","title":{"rendered":"Cinemateca"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Last Picture Show<\/em> was on at Cinemateca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got into an Uber wearing loose trousers, in case the old theatre didn\u2019t have AC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we were driving, Portuguese radio was playing, and I realised I could understand many of the words. Not quickly enough to assemble them into a complete thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Note: All conversations were actually in Portuguese.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: What radio station is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driver<\/strong>: [looks at me sceptically and says something quietly]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: Pardon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driver<\/strong>: It\u2019s Observador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: Ah, thanks. I could really use this to help my Portuguese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His face warms into a smile, followed by a mildly surprised little laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get to Cinemateca. There\u2019s an older woman being served at the front desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a few minutes of waiting, I realise there\u2019s a bead of sweat rolling down my face. My calculations failed me. I walked here too fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wipe it away and turn around to check if I can catch a breeze from the doors behind me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I turn directly into the face of a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This startles both of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m too hot to be socially functional, so I turn back around and become a statue, hoping this makes the entire incident disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few minutes later, the guy at the front desk looks over the elderly woman he\u2019s serving and says something to me very quickly. I understood nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: Uh… I already have a ticket. Can I go ahead to the screen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Him<\/strong>: Of course. You don\u2019t need to wait here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I start down a long, shadowy hallway looking for the screening room. I notice the woman who had been behind me in the queue is now literally just behind me again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: Do you know where the screen is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her<\/strong>: Back and to the left, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We eventually find the security guy outside. He has a scanner and is holding intense eye contact. No words. I infer that he\u2019d like a QR code. The woman behind me reaches a different conclusion and tries to walk in. The security guard places his arm against the doorway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her<\/strong>: Oh, you can\u2019t buy tickets here? I didn\u2019t want to keep waiting at the front desk. It\u2019d take forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: I have a spare one if you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her<\/strong>: Ah, let me give you the cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: No need. It\u2019s a spare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her<\/strong>: You bought it by accident?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/strong>: I always buy two tickets to things. Just to tempt fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her<\/strong>: \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We go in and split ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She takes one of the easily accessible seats. I spot an empty one further down, which would require making several people stand up to let me through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High effort. High reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a great seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I settle in, beads of sweat still forming on my forehead. I stay as still as possible thinking movement would only attract further attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few minutes later, I notice people in my row passing a little stack of coins towards me from the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s from some lady\u201d says the man sitting nearby.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Last Picture Show was on at Cinemateca. I got into an Uber wearing loose trousers, in case the old theatre didn\u2019t have AC. While we were driving, Portuguese radio was playing, and I realised I could understand many of the words. Not quickly enough to assemble them into a complete thought. (Note: All conversations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-happenings"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1003,"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002\/revisions\/1003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imruls.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}