Revolutionary Road

The film, “Revolutionary Road” started screening on 30th January in England but in Japan it opened on 24th January with Japanese subtitles. It was amazing that they prepared the Japanese subtitles so fast.

I found some differences watching films at cinemas in Japan compared with England. Firstly there’s no “advanced tickets”（前売り券）here; I can buy tickets in advance but the price is the same. In Japan, if I bought tickets before the opening day, I would get a discounted ticket. This system also helps with predicting the popularity of the movies and a big sale of “advanced tickets” is announced on newspapers. Secondly when I go to the cinema I notice that they don’t sell any pamphlets of the films or items like sticker posters and mobile phone charms as souvenirs. I usually buy a pamphlet because it contains photos of the film, an introduction to the cast & crew and the synopsis, so it’s very helpful to understand the film better. In England I can’t expect Japanese subtitles so I really miss having a Japanese movie pamphlet.

I went to watch Revolutionary Road on the opening day; my friend and I checked the time table and selected the 3:50pm showing. Another interesting system in England is that the tickets prices are different for other cinemas and show times. In Japan, some cinemas have special discounts for early birds or special dates like “cinema day” and “lady’s day”. “Cinema day” is usually the 1st day of the month and “lady’s day” is on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Except for these special discounts, tickets prices are fixed so if my schedule is flexible, I go to a cinema on special discounted days in Japan. However here, I check available cinemas and choose the cheapest one. Nowadays the cinema isn’t so popular in Japan and it’s the same here; I’ve never experienced “every seat taken”. I wasn’t sure about the opening day so I was a little bit worried that it might be full. My friend and I went to the theatre 20 minutes before the show but there was nobody waiting. We couldn’t even get into the screen and a guy in front of the cinema said “it’s too early for the show. It starts from 3:50pm.” We knew the time! Do I expect too much because I’m Japanese? However my Italian friend also said “Even in Italy, we can get into the screen 30 minutes before the show time.” Anyway we said “we’ll be back.” and left. In Japan, it opens earlier so that the show starts on time, here people don’t rush but they somehow still start the show on time.
I have not talked about the film’s story, but I was really impressed by Kate Winslet’s acting and my friend and I both felt that it was the best decision for us that we didn’t come to watch this movie with our husbands.