Sitting in a darkened cinema full of other humans

It’s strange to say, but the place I’ve missed most during the lockdown is windowless, totally dark and full of humans who avoid most interaction with each other. Actual talking among those people is actively discouraged by management. As it should be.

But I can’t wait to be able to see a movie in an actual movie theatre again.

Being confined at home the past two months has certainly reminded me of the incredible offerings available on the small screen. It’s truly a time of peak TV, and on too many nights I’ve binge-watched an amazing series, only to regret it the next morning as work beckoned. The third season of Ozark, the organized-crime drama Zero Zero Zero and the riveting British series Informer are among the standouts. There have also been excellent movies, releases I missed when they first came out, like the crazy Korean zombie picture Train to Busan, and Imperium, with Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe doing a remarkably believable turn as an FBI agent infiltrating a white-supremacist gang.

But in the realm of filmed entertainment, nothing compares to experiencing a movie in a theatre. The visual sensation of images on a big screen is so enveloping it all but makes the viewer part of the action. The sound is unparalleled. And then there’s the intangible pleasure of sharing that rich experience with scores or hundreds of other people. Even if they appear in the flickering light of the projector as no more than vague blobs. To hear others laugh or gasp or cry out — then chatter excitedly when the lights come on — makes for a communal celebration that just can’t be equaled by a 40-inch flat screen and living room couch.

I know streaming video and athome entertainment generally have become more popular than ever. But as the economy slowly reboots, I can only pray that our cinema temples will once more open their doors to a frustrated congregation.