San Francisco is My Home

11
Oct

Irony at the Castro Theater

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks

I saw a 9:45 showing of Barton Fink at the Castro Theater last night. It was on a double bill with Mulholland Drive, but never again will I make the mistake of viewing that movie and then having to walk home in the darksome night. Barton Fink is disturbing enough.

The Castro is an elegant old movie palace just a few doors down Castro Street from Market. Most shows begin with the pipe organ rising out of the stage floor for a brief medley of songs, and you stare around at the gilded walls and murals and red velvet seats while the organist performs, or you watch the crazy foot machinations he has to undergo to make the pipes sound that way.

It’s a strange setting for a film like Barton Fink, which is about an intellectual snob who insists that he is on the verge of creating a “theater for the masses.” He gets a job working in the movies, much against his inclination, and goes through the entire film never realizing that the pictures are the new theater for the masses.

So you’re watching all this in a movie house that at one time was a perfectly ordinary setting for films of mass appeal, but now that it’s an independent theater its lineup is comprised of arty films, campy films, cult films — in short, everything except entertainment for the masses. After a while I wasn’t sure if I was surrounded by ten layers of irony or if everything balanced out to perfect sincerity.

Also, my friend thinks I’ve got the film’s message all wrong.

The point, if I have one, is that the Castro is a gorgeous palace of shows, and you should check it out if you have a chance.