Bogus Moment

Lights are out. The movie is playing on this inward curved screen. The movie theater is bigger than US ones. The movie--The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1--is loud. Turkish subtitles line the bottom portion of the screen.

In the movie, masses of Pan-Am (or whatever) citizens are gathering for a confrontation with the suppressive forces. The movie cuts to the face of one of the soldiers. Then...

Bam. The screen goes black. It's like the power went out. The whole theater is black, except for the exit sign.

The faint words of a friend make shadows in my mind. Something about a smoke break. Jena and I look at each other. We both say: "This must be intermission."

I add: "Good. 'Cause I need to pee."

The screen flares up again, and the cinema company says something in Turkish about how we have ten minutes. Then a commercial or two play on the big screen. Obviously, I'm not sure what happened. I was one my way to pee.

When I returned, I kept thinking: Need to smoke? Need to pray? It's cool. We've got you covered. Ten-minute break. Mid-film.

I sat down, and Jena headed out to use the restroom. But it's not like we needed to save our seats because Turkey is AWESOME and there is RESERVED seating in MOVIE THEATERS. We were exactly where I wanted to sit. Close but not too close, and exactly in the center. Finally, my obsession with being punctual to movies--inherited from my father--has allowed me to reap a reward.

Jena returned. A couple more commercials played. Then nothing. Just everyone in a pitch black room together. Then bam. Two seconds or so before it cut out, we were back in the movie.