During the ‘winter’ in Manizales, it is not uncommon to have sunny mornings and afternoon showers. The dove gray clouds creep over the mountains and sink down into the valley later in the day. Some people might not enjoy the rain, but I don’t mind. Not only is it beautiful to watch the clouds roll in, but it also is a good excuse to see a movie.
The only independent cinema in Manizales is located in the neighborhood of Milan. It is a pretty tree-lined neighborhood on the ridge of a mountain. Currently there’s a lot of sidewalk construction, which detracts from the serenity, but it will make for a nice stroll when all is said and done.
Cinespiral is the name of the cinema and it is a small venue with four screening rooms and a narrow lobby. There is no popcorn, but there are small bottles of Argentinean wine. There are screening hours, but there are not any specific films that play. Rather, it is the customer who chooses what they want to watch. It reminded me a lot of the DVD bangs in Korea with their libraries of movies and their private viewing rooms.
My friend Andrea and I went during the French Film Festival, so we browsed through a list of French films until we selected a diamond heist thriller called La Ultima Diamante.
Andrea is such a frequent patron that she put her movie ticket on a tab and then lead me through a rabbit warren of passages until we reached our screen. We had the whole place to ourselves, so we stretched out on the couch and made ourselves very comfortable.
Cinespiral isn’t the kind of place you visit if you want a massive screen and million-dollar sound equipment. It is however the perfect place to hide out on a rainy day.
“Do you want to watch another?” Andrea asked me as we were leaving.
I couldn’t stick around because I had some work to finish, but I knew exactly what I’d like to do the next time the clouds rolled in on a Saturday afternoon.
How to get to Cinespiral: Cr 23 #75-200, Milán, Manizales, Colombia
