LMU Kino: A Cheap and Alternative Student-run Cinema

One of my favorite discoveries since my arrival here in Munich has been LMU Kino. This student-run initiative shows alternative movies, foreign films, cult classics or movies that have passed under history’s radar every Wednesday evening. The best part – tickets only cost 2.50 euros.

The movies screened are seldom blockbusters and a lot of the times, the movies are hard to swallow -even for movie junkies. Indeed, their repertoire includes the works of Andrei Tarkowski, Louis Malle, Spike Lee, Harold Ramis, etc.

The movies are shown in one of LMU’s buildings (Theresienstrasse 37). The showing room is an interesting mix between a lecture hall and a fully equipped cinema hall. Indeed, the movies are not shown using a simple classroom projector- the room has a real movie reel and projector. The room also had sound-proofing and anti-reverberating wall plasters. However, the seating arrangement in the room is very much like a regular classroom’s. The chairs are made of hard wood and each place has a small desk. (Though this takes away from the cinema feel, it is very practical for eating a meal during the movie.)

As I walked into the LMU Kino for the first time, I was happy and surprised to see students chatting away with a beer in hand and their own food. Indeed, this is one of my favorite parts about the whole movie experience. Unlike normal cinemas where food is prohibitively expensive and few to none are drinking beer, at LMU Kino you can bring your own large pizza and a couple liters of beer if you wish (this is actually what a few people did).

In Canada, we also have student-run cinemas, but they are seldom only for recreational purposes. They are usually associated to some sort of social issue or to an important guest speaker. They are a serious affair. You have to be alert and present and there is usually a Q & A session after the movie. No beer in sight.

In general, I have been shocked by how liberally Germany universities (or at least LMU) associate themselves with alcohol. The university organizes many student events and parties that involve heavy drinking. In Canada, universities would fear generating a negative reputation because of their association with alcohol. The university is never directly implicated in party planning that involves alcohol. University parties are always independently organized by students or student associations. And in general, there are just a lot less of them.

So far, I have seen two movies at LMU Kino – “The Sacrifice” directed by Andrei Tarkowski (an English, Swedish and French film) and the French film “Ascenseur pour l’échafaud” directed by Louis Malle and famous for its jazz score by Miles Davis.

Both these movies are not what I would naturally choose to watch. In fact, “The Sacrifice” was one of the most slow-paced and odd movies I have ever seen. The plot involves an odd family living on an isolated island who learns on the news that a nuclear war is about to begin. The main character, the father of the family, would do anything to save his son. He finds out from a friend that if he has sex with their maid who is actually a witch, the nuclear war will be reversed, and the world will be saved. He follows his friend’s advice and he indeed saves the world. The film culminates with the father putting his house on fire and being sent to a mental ward.

I know, this is weird stuff.

As I said, LMU Kino does not show run-of-the-mill blockbusters. And this is great. LMU Kino has allowed me and many other students to get out of our cinematic comfort zone and to expand our film knowledge.

Whether or not you end up enjoying the movie, I would recommend everyone to go to LMU Kino at least once. If not for the movie, for the experience of eating a meal and drinking beer in a cinema/classroom with other students. At worst, you’ve only wasted 2.50 euros.