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As summer approaches and social distancing becomes problematic, a question: what was #TheLastDriveIn you ever went to, if you& #39;ve ever been to one at all? In my case I think it was The Swan Drive-In Theatre [sic] in Blue Ridge GA in 2008 to see a Batman movie. "The Dark Knight"?
I ask not only because the very notion of drive-ins brings back childhood and, yes, some adolescent memories. (Remember those long bench seats in American cars?) But because here in France they& #39;re making a comeback "while waiting for theaters to reopen." https://driveinfestival.org"> https://driveinfestival.org
In Germany, I gather, a new *autokino* opened in Mönchengladbach last month, and one in Essen has been going strong since 2015! (Have you been to the drive-in lately @takingaction4us ?)
How do you say "drive-in" in French? "Le drive-in." And while prior to the pandemic they& #39;d pretty much disappeared there& #39;s always been a fascination akin to France& #39;s enduring interest in cowboys, Harleys and Zippo lighters as bits of quintessential caricatured Americana.
According to the French weekly Le Point, in the United States, "berceau du drive-in," Robert De Niro will champion "la renaissance de ce loisir mythique" with drive-in shows around the country this summer. https://www.lepoint.fr/pop-culture/resurrection-des-drive-in-en-france-les-exploitants-pas-contents-15-05-2020-2375641_2920.php#">https://www.lepoint.fr/pop-cultu...
I don& #39;t own a car (why would you in Paris?) but if I did, I& #39;d love to start hitting the drive-ins once again. And if they started showing movies in the parks with social distancing observed I& #39;d definitely go. Alfresco cinema, done right, is wonderful.
My friend Caroline Baron started @FilmAid in 1999 to lift morale, educate and inspire refugees in the Balkans and Africa with outdoor screenings. The U.S., with 95,000 COVID-19 deaths and counting, could use some similar safe cinema, with or without the cars.
