Forums > Areas > Central Highlands

samoca

Aug 15, 2003, 12:50 AM

Post #1 of 3 (616 views)

Shortcut

What's a movie buff to do if she moves to SMA?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Hi all--
New here. I spent a lovely (tho' hot week) in San Miguel in May this year. I did see that the cable options (at my B&B) weren't bad. I know that there are a couple of places to see recent movies in town. I am really anxious to get out of LA and am very taken with San Miguel and I do think I can afford to live there, having talked to quite a few people while there, etc.--but I really wonder how I'll feel without the incredible movie options I'll be leaving behind. I guess one can go to Queretaro, and rent DVDs, etc. I did manage to live 6 months in a foreign country where there were relatively few movie options and found it quite bearable...and I know there will be many compensations (at least I hope so). Anyway, anyone on this forum deal with "movie withdrawal syndrome" after moving to SMA? Thanks!

Brian

Aug 15, 2003, 3:31 AM

Post #2 of 3 (615 views)

Shortcut

Re: [samoca] What's a movie buff to do if she moves to SMA?

Can't Post | Private Reply

In addition to the local movie houses, Blockbuster and the film series at the Biblioteca, you have a few other options. After you get internet access, you can subscribe to a service like Netflix. For a set fee you rent DVD movies by mail. Another way is to subscribe to a US or Canadian satellite TV service. You would need a larger dish than is used in the US but once installed, you have access to Pay-Per-View, HBO/Showtime, Bravo, Independent Film Channel etc. In Mexico, anything is possible.

Carol Schmidt

Aug 18, 2003, 12:44 PM

Post #3 of 3 (580 views)

Shortcut

Re: [samoca] What's a movie buff to do if she moves to SMA?

Can't Post | Private Reply

Just at the outskirts of town is a big mall with the major supermarket, Gigante, and a two-cinema complex that shows all the major U.S. films in English with Spanish subtitles, usually at the same time the films are playing in the U.S. though that can be mas or menos a month. Occasionally a film comes through that is dubbed into Spanish, no subtitles, no English, especially true for kids' films like Harry Potter because the kids scream when their parents can't read them the subtitles fast enough.

Now the artsy films will probably not come there, the action ones certainly do, but The Hours and The Pianist both spent more than the usual week on show.

Villa Jacaranda, a very nice hotel, hosts many smaller or older or artsy films in its theatre for $5 including popcorn and a drink, and they do a nice job--Irish films for the week of St. Pat's, etc. The Biblioteca offers two films a night, usually artsy or cult ones or foreign language with English subtitles.

You can indeed drive to Queretaro and go to the major theatre complex there and see a dozen films or more, many English language with Spanish subtitles, including all the current top U.S. titles.

Blockbuster isn't that great for English language tapes and DVDs--we exhausted them quickly--but they do get new titles occasionally. And in the Tuesday Market I hate to say this but there are plenty of illegal copies of current films for sale for a couple of bucks. I do have friends who do this and they say the quality is usually fine, though you might have trouble getting your money back on a bad one after a week. Many of the stands have a VCR right there so you can check out a tape before you buy it. I won't do this on principle--as a writer I respect other artists' copyrights--but it's there.

Carol Schmidt