Penguins are cute

Last night I went to see March of the Penguins with Catherine. It's a fascinating story, but I felt it was too cute in the end. While the journey to their breeding grounds is difficult, the danger of predators is given short shrift. Those dangers are added as an afterthought to the 70 mile hike and the freezing conditions. I wanted to know about the penguins and their life.

The footage is amazing, and I had hoped that there would be an IMAX release of the film. We saw it at the Angelica. The print and the projection were both bad. The colors were muted and the picture seemed a little soft. I've vowed not to see films there, and yet the past three films I've seen are at that theater. It's just lack of distribution.

Later in the evening, I mentioned to Catherine that I really enjoyed offering critiques. She said she noticed.

We tried to go to La Esquina, under the former corner deli on Lafayette. Catherine had mentioned it earlier and said she'd try to get a reservation. I was surprised it might be a problem, but she said it had become very hip and trendy. After the film, she told me the restaurant was fully booked. We tried the cafe, but the wait was too long. Catherine said she was starving like the penguins, forced to go months without food to care for their chicks.

We ended up at a nearby Indonesian restaurant. It was 10pm and we were the only customers. We asked if they were closing, but were assured they were open. We sat at a table under a wall of masks and ordered our food. It was very good.

We ate and chatted. The waitress hovered. At one point she pointedly asked if we were finished. We said yes and quickly paid the bill. The woman flicked the lights on and off. I told Catherine I thought they wanted us to leave. We passed a table on the way out where the woman's daughter quietly read a book. "Oh," Catherine said. "I thought she was a customer."

Back on the street, she asked if I wanted to try to get a drink at La Esquina's bar. I said sure and we walked back over to the diner. It was still packed. The (apparently teenage) hostess recognized Catherine and she made a quick phone call to ask if they could accomodate two for drinks at the bar. A positive answer was returned and she opened a door in the cramped space marked "Employees Only." We walked down a flight of back stairs into the basement. A man lead us through the kitchen and into the bar. We found a spot to sit and ordered drinks.

The bar was nice and secluded. 80's music mixed with hip hop played on the sound system. We talked and people watched and sipped our drinks. Catherine said the place reminded her a little of Milk and Honey, what with its "exclusive" reservation policy and its hipstery almost speakeasy vibe. She said it also put her in the mind of Freeman's Alley, where I had just ate with Li Ting. I told her it had been some time since I had hung out in new, hip bars, and I kept watching the crowd.

A little after midnight I said I had to go. I had been up since seven in the morning and was feeling drowy. Catherine said she was thinking of taking the day off. She'd just returned from three weeks in France, but still had some fifty odd vacation days left. She said I was lucky that I had September off. I said I didn't want to hear it, coming from someone who seemed to have 100 vacation days a year.

We parted ways under the Corner Diner sign. She mentioned a party Saturday night. I told her I had parents in town. She said maybe I could sneak out after they had gone to bed. And I thought to myself that I could live out the teenage experience of doing just that. Posted by eku at August 18, 2005 10:54 AM