When Trastevere Is Just A Backdrop (Cinema Pasquino)

Sometimes there are moments that happen, at the time just a seemingly odd occurrence to which you give no more than a passing thought, but as the years pass, it's a moment you cherish for what it was, the spirit it captured, and it becomes the fondest of many memories.

The Time

It was the summer of 1979. To be more precise it was June so really early summer and still a very pleasant climate in Rome. Short sleeves but even in mid afternoon you could still be fairly dry, quite a difference from today when climate change has made Rome much warmer if not hot on average by the time June comes around.

Dad had retired years earlier from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), but my folks chose to remain in Rome while I went on to university in the US. That summer I was back in Rome for a couple of months during the academic summer break.

In 1979 life and entertainment was quite different. No internet and even TV in Italy was quite limited - some will remember it was still a time of maybe two state channels and really a black and white experience. As any college student I was taken up by my own interests and attention with details that make up a young adult life. I simply saw my folks living their own life, somewhat oblivious to what may have been their own challenges and difficulties, I suppose they may have been asking themselves the question of "what now?".

Anyways that summer, they had apparently taken the interest in seeing movies as a way of passing time. Sounds simple enough but wasn't so trivial since Dad had no interest in seeing movies dubbed in Italian as that was the norm in Italy. That was the time when Rome had just a handful of movie theaters that screened movies in English or better known as original soundtrack, and even without any subtitles in Italian to boot.

A Movie Theater

One theater in particular, Cinema Pasquino, showed original soundtrack movies everyday. Friday to Sunday it would be first runs while Monday to Thursday would be a hodge podge of second or third runs and what nots. Cinema Pasquino was located in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood which meant you couldn't actually get to the theater directly by car because of the narrow streets and limited parking.

A movie theater in those days isn't remotely related to today's cineplex theater offering. Cinema Pasquino was even more different and for some it could even evoke aspects of Cinema Paradiso. Little is known of the history of Cinema Pasquino but the locale most likely did start out as a movie theater and probably just post WWII. Basically a single floor structure. By the late '70s Cinema Pasquino was quite popular with the Rome expat community, but probably because there really wasn't an alternative if you wanted an English soundtrack movie to enjoy. Cinema Pasquino certainly blended in well with the rest of Trastevere, giving that sense of being a slightly dilapidated place, a nondescript exterior, not particularly clean, somewhat dark as one would expect of a movie theater, a host of characters, from the box office lady always with a cigarette and hardly any coin change, to the aging usher, the toothless ice cream man, and the never ending wisps of cigarette smoking coming from the projection booth. There were no advance ticket sales, no seat selection, refreshments were iffy, and showtimes were indicative.

Mom and Dad went to Cinema Pasquino Monday to Thursday, literally almost everyday. To avoid the traffic and crowds, they always went to the second showing which was typically at 5pm in the afternoon, and after the day's siesta.

That's the background.

The Moment

I suppose it was Tuesday, and I hadn't really thought of what I was going to do for the rest of the day. Mom asked why not join them for the afternoon at Cinema Pasquino. I said sure as it was fine with me to spend a couple of hours in a cool place as the afternoon was on its way to being rather warm and a fan was just a mild help. I also didn't mind driving for them, not that Cinema Pasquino was far from home, maybe a 15 min drive at most. While parking in Trastevere could be a nightmare, a weekday and at that hour things were quite easier. We also knew our way around the streets and had figured some of the routines to know the spots that would be free. The drive was quick and gave no hint to what I would witness. Once parked we continued on foot to Cinema Pasquino, navigating the streets of Trastevere that have no particular layout, you just have to have some sense of direction to not get lost.

That summer afternoon in Trastevere already had the typical feel - very quiet streets as people were just getting ready to awake from the longer than usual afternoon siesta, no activity was really going on to create other noises, and so one could hear as forks and knives made noises from people eating at restaurants in the neighborhood.

Mom, while a housewife, was really the standard bearer, dealing with anything that needed to be taken care of. She was the one to personally engage with everyone to take care of things, if needed she would cajole or charm people to get things done or wiggle her way in or out of interesting situations. As any respectable lady in Rome of that time, even a simple afternoon outing meant shoes with heels, maybe not high, but enough to be distinguishable from any flat footwear that would have been immensely more comfortable. Dad was never a fast walker so Mom would always break her stride to settle in. It was just instinctive. So as we locked the car up I was moderately surprised to see Mom take off with a rather intent stride outdistancing Dad in short time. I just kind of tagged along to keep up while at the same keeping an eye on Dad who was further back.

As we got closer to Cinema Pasquino we still had to negotiate a couple of turns and twist. Mind you in most places this was full of traditional Roman sanpietrini, the notorious cobblestones that are the epitome of slipping in Rome when it rains. Mom negotiated every step deftly with her heels, she wasn't even looking down. Her steps could be heard clearly in the silence as they went tac-tac-tac. As we rounded one corner I picked up a different sound and it became louder as moved along. It was mix of clang-tang-tang, decidely metallic in nature. It was an odd sound to hear. Mom picked up her pace, not much, but it no longer was a leisurely walk.

The Surreal Unfolds

We rounded the next to last turn and now I could see the source of the strange sound. I would never have imagined it in my wildest dreams. Coming towards us from the other direction was an individual who would have fitted perfectly in Crocodile Dundee or maybe Indiana Jones.

He wore brown explorer style khaki shorts and shirts that looked well weathered. He had an outback bush hat. No glasses and he looked almost well tanned. From afar he looked scruffy with a heavy beard but it looked decently trimmed. He had low boots on, rugged but well worn. But the most distinctive feature was that he had a fairly large canvas type backpack. The kind you would expect of an all terrain explorer. It looked fairly full, but it had pots, pans, and other camping paraphernalia hanging. This was source of all the noise he was making as he walked.

He was an odd character to see in the neighborhood and I thought it was just coincidental that we met him. Well, Mom almost broke into a run to turn the last corner to reach Cinema Pasquino which was maybe another 50 meters away. To my surprise Crocodile Dundee followed and kept pace. Mom stepped into the theater reception and went directly to the ticket booth. She quickly bought the tickets, gave me mine, and without a second thought told the box office lady to give Dad his ticket when he arrived. Apparently this was an understood arrangement. This was rather unusual - that of Mom going ahead rather than waiting for Dad, and all for just a movie showing? The mystery thickened.

While the current showing was still in its final moment, Italian movie theaters weren't strict on entering while a film had already started or a showing still had to finish, after all there really wasn't a general cleaning or reset between showings. Every theater did its own thing. Cinema Pasquino didn't really care and Mom disappeared behind the curtains. I stayed back and observed Crocodile Dundee getting a ticket and likewise disappearing behind the curtain. In a few moments Dad arrived and picked up his ticket from ticket lady. The previous showing had just finished, lights were up, and the few movie goers exited. I entered and looked to see where Mom had taken her place. Apparently Dad knew the arrangement and he just went without even bothering to look. He took his place besides her and it was the first two seats of the front row, yes, the front row.

Even in today's cineplexes not every theater is perfect with identical viewing where ever you're seated. Imagine then a front row seat when a movie theater was just a place to see something projected on a screen, probably the worse spot in the house. At Cinema Pasquino the first row was about 5 meters from the screen and you really had to look up, a pretty gigantic screen at that close distance. Maybe the side seating was marginally better than being dead center as you could probably view the screen laterally and use peripheral vision. Either way it wasn't for me and it wasn't a problem since I'd go sit any where as I was used to being free to sit where ever I wanted.

Crocodile Dundee continued to make noises with the dangling pots and pans as he made his way to his spot. Where you would ask? It was none other than the second row just behind my folks. Nothing else happened that was noteworthy other than the film being something totally forgettable.

What I had observed was something I simply saw that day and thought nothing more. I guess I thought it was pure coincidental, a fluke. I didn't ask Mom anything and she didn't mention anything.

The following week Mom invited me again and again I agreed. It was real sense of deja vù. I could hear the pots and pans, the pace quickened, but this time there was a difference. Crocodile Dundee made it to the theater before Mom. He went in after he got his ticket and so did Mom. I stayed behind to waited for Dad.

I walked into theater and could only smile. Crocodile Dundee was seated in the first row and Mom in the second row.

That summer I joined my folks several times on this movie outing of the afternoon and the scene would almost repeat itself every time. Whoever got there first took first row. They never talked about it. It must have been some unspoken rivalry, a sort of competition, or a game of chance. Crocodile Dundee may have looked like a homeless person but it certainly wasn't the case if he could afford a ticket for almost every day. His boots may have looked a little forlorn but then they probably took a constant beating. I never saw my folks and him talk or exchange, even pleasantries. Each did their own thing as if it were an unspoken rule. I never heard the ticket lady gossip about it either but I'm they must have noticed it over time.

This must have gone on for quite some time, years actually, until my folks changed their routine to something else, and then they left Rome for good. When I came back to Rome many years later and Cinema Pasquino was still opened, I did encounter Crocodile Dundee more than once. The same as always and you couldn't tell if he had aged. Same seating. Perhaps he now had a touch of loneliness.

Architectural Concept for a renovation