Triple Movie Night

There's a special event in São Paulo called Noitão that features three films in a row, starting at midnight. Leticia, Roberta and Ligia were going to attend, and I decided to tag along. The theater, HSBC Belas Artes, chooses a variety of local and international films. At least one is from America, which meant I could fully understand a portion of the entertainment. I realized that I'd have to read Portuguese subtitles for the other movies, and I viewed this a fun challenge.

After João's birthday dinner at a pizza place, we headed over to the theater and attached to a line that trailed around the corner. Apparently this was a popular thing. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long. Each event has a different theme. This time it was "Segredos Obscuros" ("Dark Secrets"). They disclose the name of two of the movies, and the third is a surprise. We knew we were going to see "Fast Food Nation" and a French comedy that translates in Portuguese to "A Noiva Perfeita." I was wide awake for the entirety of FFA, but by the middle of the second movie, maybe around 3 am, I had to rest my eyes and brain waves for half an hour.

I was actually doing extremely well with comprehending the Portuguese subtitles. I got about 75% of what was going on. Not too shabby. The third movie was another French one, "La Pianiste," which means "The Piano Teacher." In contrast to the previous, this one was definitely not a comedy. It is a very disturbing, sexual and depressing movie to say the least, but I thought interesting from a psychological perspective.

Afterwards all the movie-watchers lined up for goodie bags full of snacks. I can say with certainty that a nutritionist was definitely not involved with the meal. It consisted of boxed orange juice (more accurately described as orange-flavored sugar water), Toda Hora crackers, a chocolate "bolinho" (little cake), Maxi Chocolate (chocolate-filled bar), and Sonho de Valsa chocolate candy. We grabbed our chocolate-drenched meals and walked outside, where it was obscenely bright from the breaking day. It was nearly 7 am. And then with little effort, I napped like I've never napped before.