I had been meaning to go to Cinéma Moderne since my return to Montréal two years ago. I finally went last week (for Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and then again this week (for Do the Right Thing) and I can’t believe it took me so long. The café/bar is darling, the summer patio (pictured above) is lovely, the energy of the space and the people working there has an indie biz chilled out vibe, and of course, there is always an interesting selection of films, from “mainstream movies and niche titles to restored classics and avant-garde genre films, along with everything from animation and shorts, to documentaries and experimental films” (per their website “about” page).
President Co-Founder, Alexandre Dominque, described Cinéma Moderne as “a cinema for cinema lovers, by cinema lovers” in a CBC piece shortly after the cinema opened in 2018. I mention this because although I may not be a card-carrying cinephile or film buff, I do appreciate the power and artistry of film as well as a cinema experience in a bone fide cinema rather than a movie multiplex (Heritage Montréal has an interesting history of cinemas in Montréal, if you’re curious).
My first memory of going to the cinema, I was maybe eight years old, and my mother took me to see Gone with the Wind (in the final years of screenings at the Snowdon Theatre, I believe). During my undergrad in Ottawa, I have fond memories of the Mayfair, the indie theatre around the corner from me. In Vancouver, my membership to the Cinematheque was my ticket to cinema experiences. In Toronto, I took a week off work one year, and got a Hot Docs Festival pass for a dose of documentaries. When I went to see Last Night in January 2020, not long after the rebirth of the Paradise Theatre in Toronto, little did I know that the pandemic lockdowns were coming and that I wouldn’t go to the cinema again for more than two years. In 2022, my first film after the pandemic was Gabor at Cinéma Beaubien in Montréal.
In closing, two quick things. One: across Canada, wherever you are, keep the independent cinemas on your radar, keep them alive and kicking. Two: a note to the crew at Cinéma Moderne in Montréal — it’s a beautiful thing you have going on there, see you again soon 🙂
a few words ... from Montréal 