Now Showing: Trylon Cinema | Minneapolis, MN
The movie programmers are showing up and standing with their moviegoers.
Dear Moviegoers,
Who would've thought that movies like Shakedown and Road House could be screened as part of a community's anti-fascist resistance? Surely, this wasn't the original intent of the filmmakers or stars, and likely not the reason behind their programming by a Minneapolis movie theater, and yet here we are.
Today is the start of a horrible weekend in this country: extreme cold weather, extreme federally-approved street murder, and extreme indifference from political hacks. Minneapolis residents and American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by ICE agents, Pretti mere hours before this post, just for being concerned neighbors and active observers of federal government operations. Suffice to say, we should all be beyond concerned and, at the very least, ought to contact our elected representatives.
I have plenty of movies to review, all of which are on the way (including a collection from the SF IndieFest, happening in a few weeks), but in this moment, I feel like highlighting a place of good in the center of a siege.
A few days ago, I asked on my social feeds if any Minneapolis movie theaters could be considered anti-establishment. When I ask this, I think of Spectacle out of NYC or Zeitgeist out of New Orleans- though perhaps I'm using "anti-establishment" loosely. Still, only one responder came about, and their recommendation was Trylon Cinema.
This weekend, Trylon is doing a Sam Elliot double-feature of the previously mentioned films, the kind that exude cheesy machismo and wish-fulfillment justice by way of fists and throat rips. Movie programmers, under the thumb of injustice, might typically have documentaries at the ready as their immediate screen offerings, but Trylon chose to continue with what they probably planned a while back.
What other theaters should I spotlight? Leave a comment, send a reply, and let's connect!
In my mind, I prefer to imagine theater management getting together and discussing a plan for frustrated moviegoers, and ultimately landing on "Sam Elliot and Peter Weller knocking off bad guys from a motorcycle." Trylon Cinema is my kind of theater.
Beyond that, Trylon Cinema should also be a theater to support. A non-profit venue, they joined the recent solidarity strike throughout Minneapolis and all over, which saw businesses close and thousands of people marching in the cold. They used the leverage available to them, their screens and projectors, and went dark for a day. With theaters struggling for business, one day off can hurt.
My kind of theater, indeed.
Are independent movie theaters anti-establishment by nature? Is moviegoing an act of defiance?
Maybe.
At this time, bread & roses.