Two weeks ago, movie theaters opened in my city for the first time since they were closed in January in response to COVID-19. With no new films to show, as those have almost all been released in on-demand streaming services, theaters have been running previous blockbuster hits, both western and Chinese: Harry Potter, Zootopia, and what has been jokingly referred to as the start of “Christopher Nolan Season” Inception and Interstellar (His newest film, Tenet, is due to open in China on September 4.) have been the biggest hits. Today, I went to the cinema for the first time in six months to see the highly regarded Chinese animation, Ne Zha, one of last year’s biggest films that I had missed.
Cinemas were given strict guidelines in order to reopen and I noticed the difference right away. I went on my app to purchase tickets, almost no one in China buys tickets at the box office because the app is not only more convenient but cheaper, and found that for the first time it was asking to verify my phone number and passport number before I was able to purchase tickets. This is the first step in being able to track everyone that is going into the theater, in case someone does test positive, everyone that was at the theater at the same time will be tracked down, tested, and incubated until the tests come back negative.
Upon arrival at the cinema, I signed in at the front desk that sits at the lobby entrance. There they took my temperature and checked my health code – since early March, everyone has been required to keep an up-to-date health code app on their phone that will scan in real-time to show if we have been in the vicinity of anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Luckily, my health code was green and my temperature normal, and I was allowed into the theater.
Unfortunately, one of the precautions being taken is that masks are required at all times inside the theater. As a result, the concessions stand is closed and you must finish any food or drink before you enter the theater. Another rule, one that is much more pleasing, is that only every third seat can be sold, so you must have a buffer seat on either side of you. Once the feature starts, an usher will often watch the front to make sure you obey the mask rules and if you’ve been able to sneak in some food or drink, they will ask you to take it outside.
At this point, I’d like to give a review of the film but after jumping through all of those hoops, once the film started, I quickly realized there were no English subtitles. I tried to follow it for about fifteen minutes but couldn’t understand enough of the Chinese, unfortunately, and left. Now, I’m just hoping that none of the other half-dozen people at the screening tests positive for COVID-19. I’d hate to be tracked down and incubated for a movie I didn’t even see!