When you move abroad to a country where they speak a different language, going to the movies becomes somewhat of a controversial topic. I don’t want to sound like a complainer – don’t get me wrong, Italian is great – but watching movies dubbed into Italian is just not the same. A story filmed in France with Marion Cottilard speaking Italian just doesn’t seem authentic! The same goes for all those movies filmed in NYC, London or any English speaking country. The voice of the actors is different from the one you have known all your life and the movie loses a bit of its charm. For this reason, ever since I moved to Milano I tend to watch movies at home.

To my surprise, one day I discovered Cinema Beltrade and all of this changed! This tiny cinema with velvet red curtains and chairs has a beautiful offering of movies in their original language. For all my Italian friends, don’t you worry; the films all have subtitles. This cinema has a magical cozy homelike feeling and when I go there I feel a little like I am back in Montreal.

Only one movie is shown at a time so I suggest you always keep an eye on their website. It is thanks to Cinema Beltrade that I get to see movies by fellow Canadian and uber-talented Xavier Dolan in French! I know this sounds overly dramatic but, Cinema Beltrade, don’t you ever dare go away!