Dinner and a Movie

Thursday night in Israel is the equivalent to Friday night in the States. Kim & I are anxious to see Indiana Jones & the Crystal Skull, so we figured that Thursday might be our golden opportunity. On that note we can only say that Israel is a strange country with complex mysteries so deep that they can easily befuddle the most experienced movie-goer. Kim & I are experienced movie-goers but apparently still new in this country. Kim not only likes movies, she can even tell you the best seat in the theatre (thank you Doug Miller for teaching that in your class). Unfortunately, our lack of Hebrew understanding of certain cultural norms, such as the movie theatre make for a very entertaining and educational evening.

First, did you know that most theatres have assigned seating? Second, did you know that these numbers are printed on your ticket, which coincidentally, is also printed completely in Hebrew? Third, did you know that it is socially acceptable for you to sit in a seat other than your assigned seat? It is equally not okay to remove others out of your rightful seat by harsh cajoling in the middle of the movie after the wrong seat that you intentionally sat in was reclaimed by its rightful owner. In such case, you must sit somewhere else.

Apparently in Israel, the majority of the theatres do in fact have assigned seating. However, most of those attending do not sit in their assigned seats at all. It is apparently socially-unacceptable yet technically-correct to reclaim your assigned seat if you are sitting in a chair someone else would like to sit in. Kim & I sat in someone else's seats by accident. Nonetheless, it did not matter. Because they sat in another seat before we occupied theirs, they had to give up their assigned seats and let Kim & I sit where we chose. Confused? We are still sorting it out ourselves.

This is the part where we thank the Lord for sending nice English-speaking Israelis to kindly clue us in to cinema customs.

We ended up not being able to see the latest Indiana Jones installment mostly because it wasn't playing at that particular theatre. Instead, we were able to see the latest Diaz chic flik complete with Hebrew subtitles. We were completely shocked when halfway through the movie the lights came on and the movie shut off. After we nearly screamed and had mild panic attacks (we thought Hamas or Hezbollah was behind the lights coming on because Shabbat was still a day away), we were astonished that our fellow movie-goers got up and left without complaint. I turned to Kim and asked her if she knew what time the theatre closed and if there was a curfew or some sort of something that might prevent us from seeing a movie in its entirety. Utterly clueless, we turned to our new nice English-speaking Israelis, the same new friends who had delivered us from a near-disastrous chair debacle, for guidance on the sudden switch-off. In Israel, the custom is to have regular intermissions. About half-way through the movie, viewers are offered the convenient opportunity to use the restroom, buy popcorn, or talk loudly on their cell phones. Never mind, they talk loudly on their cell phones any time they choose during the movie.

All in all, Kim & I learned two new customs in Israel. Note to self: Learn to count in Hebrew. Second note to self: Don't scream when the lights come on; Hamas may not be invading just yet.