February 7, 2014

February 7, 2014

I used to play a weekly game of Monopoly with Juilette, which almost like clockwork, I would lose to her on a regular basis.  We would meet up at the Café de Flore, where I arranged with the manager to have a table for us in the middle of the afternoon.  I think one of the reasons why I am such a lousy player is that I don’t like the game at all.  But Juilette has a passion for it, that to be honest I don’t fully understand. 

Everyone presumes that we are a couple, due to our common love for clothing that is all black, and our shared passion for jazz.  The fact is Juilette has been having an affair with an American Jazz trumpet player for the past three months.  The funny thing is her english is terrible, and he can’t speak a word of French.  I can only imagine what they share, and I’m just lucky that Juliette meets me on a weekly basis to play a shitty game of Monopoly.  

After a few hours of losing miserably to her, I asked her if we can cut the game out, and go see a film.   She agreed to this, and we went to Le Cinema de Grand Action on Rue des Ecoles.  They were showing the complete “Flash Gordon” movie serial from 1936, starring Buster Crabbe as Flash.   Over the years, they mostly showed an edited version of the serial, and made it into a feature.   But here, they are showing the complete series which is 13 episodes.   The episode tonight is Chapter 8 “Tournament of Death.” I have read that Andre Breton would go to movie theaters without knowing what was playing or their time schedule.  It could be in the beginning, middle or end. It didn’t matter to him.  Once he felt a tinge of boredom he would leave and go to another screening.  Rarely would he see a whole film by itself, and me watching a movie serial is very much like that, because I don’t see every episode.  For instance, I missed out on Episode 7.  

Nevertheless I like sitting with Juliette in a dark theater.  When I look at her, by my side, she virtually disappears into the blackness, perhaps due to the clothing as well as dyed black hair.  The only thing that is highlighted is her red lips and white skin.  Watching Flash battle a masked opponent, I begin to regret that I may lose Juliette to her new American lover.  What was taking place in front of me, on the screen, was all of a sudden not important to me. 

The film, or episode was only 20 minutes long.  But within that time frame I came to the conclusion that I love Juliette, and yet as the theater lights got turned on, I realized something has changed.  As we walked out of the theater, I asked her if she wanted to go have a drink, either cafe or wine.  She told me that she can’t because she has to meet her boyfriend at another cafe, but thanked me for the film, and the game, mostly thanked me for the game.  I don’t know why she enjoys playing with me, since I lose every game.