La Boite Noire is a 15-year-old Montreal institution, a veritable mecca for cinephiles. Instead of categorizing by genre, the shelves are organized by country and then by director (I know!) and every director's shelf contains their entire oeuvre. Where else would I find a copy of Joseph Losey's The Servant so I could finish my first year Film Aesthetics paper? Or the last season of Big Love to fill the lonely evenings during my spouse's week-long absence? Not only did this place had everything, it was balm for the lonely heart--a reason to get out of the house. I know those shelves like the back of my hand.
Don't try to tell me that Netflix is the same. I love the feeling of satisfaction, after trudging through a blizzard in winter or gliding down the street on my bike in summer, of locating exactly what I came for, or serendipitously finding something equally interesting to watch. Since I got a cable movie package I haven't been down there as often and, honestly, I've missed it. In fact, La Boite Noire was the thing I missed most about Montreal when I moved away for a five-year period.
I know, I know, video stores are going the way of the dodo bird. But so is everything else I love about cinema, it seems. Kodak is going under!!! Archives are digitizing and getting rid of their prints. Cinemas will be forced to convert to digital or shut down, which will spell the few mom-and-pop theatres and rep houses that are left. Current Hollywood fare fits into two categories: either "tent-pole" or "Oscar-bait" (both those terms make me want to gag). With few exceptions, the pretentiousness of contemporary world cinema gives me little to be excited about. Indie and documentary filmmakers can hardly eke out a living, thanks in part to the pittance paid them by shrinking broadcast licenses resulting from the plethora of channels. Of my dozens of friends who obsessively watch Boardwalk Empire or Mad Men, I am the only one I know of who chooses to pay for that content. Teens nowadays would rather watch cat videos on Youtube than a well-written comedy (if such a thing even exists anymore), and an adult cinephile recently admitted to me that he no longer has the attention span to watch feature films (!).
As a filmmaker, this is all truly disheartening, and as a cinephile it's almost enough to make me lose interest completely. Call me old fashioned, but I guess I just wasn't made for these times.
Boite Noire Mont-Royal is still open, thank God, but I can't help but wonder for how long. In the meantime, Montrealers, please support them! We all could use more exercise (although they do have delivery)....
