In their first small step towards easing restrictions following the COVID-19 pandemic, the cinemas at HOTA: Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast have opened up to a small number of patrons each day. The question is, which films would be worthwhile venturing out to the cinema for? Something new? Something unique? HOTA has decided to hold screenings over the next week of iconic films and cult classics.
From the 1940s classic Casablanca to the 1990s feel-good drama Strictly Ballroom; below are the four films you will be able to check out at HOTA from this weekend.
The Wizard of Oz
In this classic musical fantasy, Judy Garland stars as Dorothy Gale, a young Kansas farm girl who dreams of a land “somewhere over the rainbow.” Dorothy’s dream comes true when she, her dog, Toto, and her family’s house are transported by a tornado to a bright and magical world unlike anything she has seen before.
Unfortunately, she makes a mortal enemy of a wicked witch when the house falls on the hag’s sister. Now, befriended by a scarecrow without a brain, a tin man with no heart and a cowardly lion – and protected by a pair of enchanted ruby slippers – Dorothy sets off along a yellow brick road for the Emerald City to beseech the all-powerful Wizard of Oz for his help to return home.
Casablanca
The story of Rick Blaine, a cynical world-weary ex-patriate who runs a nightclub in Casablanca, Morocco during the early stages of WWII. Despite the pressure he constantly receives from the local authorities, Rick’s cafe has become a kind of haven for refugees seeking to obtain illicit letters that will help them escape to America. But when Ilsa, a former lover of Rick’s, and her husband, show up to his cafe one day, Rick faces a tough challenge which will bring up unforeseen complications.
Strictly Ballroom
This wildly off-beat comedy is about a male dancer (Paul Mercurio) who refuses to follow the accepted rules of ballroom dancing and creates his own style of choreography, which infuriates the ballroom dancing establishment. Before he’s scheduled to compete in the Pan-Pacific ballroom championships, he’s forced to take up a new partner (Tara Morice), a beginner who initially seems without promise.
Pulp Fiction
Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) are two hit men who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia (Uma Thurman) out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre incidents.
HOTA: Home of the Arts’ Cinemas are opening with up to twelve screenings daily, with each having a maximum of twenty patrons each. If you wish to attend a session and guarantee your seats, it would be best to book them via the official HOTA Website.
