Le Colisée, Carcassonne

This afternoon, we went to see the film Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro in Carcassonne, at the last remaining cinema in the town centre. Stroke of luck; it was showing in Salle 1, which is the original cinema : un petit bijou of moulded plaster decoration and red velvet. We did our best to take photos in the dim light.

The Colisée is the last cinema in the Aude that regularly shows non-mainstream films of the kind we saw today. Since the out-of-town multiplex opened a few years ago, its future has been in doubt. There were threats of closure over the summer because it is not accessible to the disabled, and the work to make it so would cost too much to be economically viable. It's absolutely charming, but we worry that it will soon close, and then what will happen to it? It will either be left to rot, or be demolished in order to build some dull modern office block. My idea: if it can't be a cinema, this salle would make a wonderful restaurant or café-théatre.

The film? We enjoyed it -- gentle humour, a little drama, and social commentary in the classic Guédigian style: he's the French Mike Leigh, en quelque sorte.