I went with my friends on a Wednesday. We knew it might be quiet but we didn’t expect the place to be so empty. Back in my country, some people go to the cinema even on weekdays. But here, we almost had the building to ourselves. We could even choose our seats on the spot.
Once we were comfortably seated and waiting for the movie to start, someone in uniform came to the front. Apparently, there was to be a speech before the movie started, and I guessed it must be about the movie. The speech was in Dutch so I didn’t know exactly what was said until the lady pointed to the side door and said something about toilets. I got the general idea, at least: there would be a break during the movie.
It turns out that in the Netherlands, a movie and a lecture have something in common, which is a short break. It may not be a bad idea to give everyone a chance to go the toilet or stretch their legs. But it was weird that the movie was stopped abruptly in the middle of a tense scene with loud background music. The momentum was lost, and it was a bit of a shock when the movie suddenly started up again with the same loud music. Well, maybe that has something to do with Dutch punctuality. Whatever the reason, at least I got what I wanted: a new and unique experience. Dea Putri Utami, MSc student of Food Technology, from Indonesia
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