My friend Nikki wanted to watch a movie under the stars one day, so she googled it and discovered Films at the Fort, which is explained as thus on their website:
Set in the natural amphitheatre of Fort Canning Park, Films at the Fort presented by Casillero del Diablo is Singapore’s premier outdoor cinema event, screening critically acclaimed films, cult classics and documentaries accompanied by gourmet food, wine, and boutique beers. Gates open at 5pm, allowing you to enjoy a glass of wine, picnic with friends and relax in the ambient setting before watching the feature film on the big screen under the stars.
So she invited us and we booked tickets for last Saturday for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Turns out we were just in time because this was an event that only happened from August 1 to 10, with a different movie per night.
My friends Arlyn, Armar, and I met up ahead of time so we could reserve a space before the place filled up.
We found a space not too up front, and spread our sleeping bags, shawls, and blankets on the grass to sit upon.
I know, I look too dressed up to be watching a movie on the grass, no? I had deliberately worn a little black dress with pearls ala Holly Golightly, the main character in the movie we were about to watch.
Actually, Arlyn was also garbed in the same earlier, when we had a pictorial on the grounds of Fort Canning Park.
But then she changed into something more comfortable afterwards, while I just wore shorts under my dress.
So anyway, we were on the grounds at around 5:30, and we soon noticed that everyone who arrived came prepared, with coolers full of food and iced drinks and even pizza, while all we had were a few char siew paus and moon cakes.
There was a well stocked bar, but we knew they only sold drinks. The only food available had to be pre-bought.
So Armar and I decided to go out and look for food, since we had plenty of time. We were allowed to leave because we had been strapped wristbands that looked like wristwatches made by one of the sponsors.
Luckily there was a cafe in the nearby National Museum, where we stocked up on some fries and the most delicious thick milkshakes we had ever tasted.
When we came back there was a lot more people.
The entire field would be packed to the brim by the time the movie started. My friends Maybelle and Nikki and Nikki’s husband showed up at around 7, and we made room for them beside us. When they went to the bar, I asked for some cider.
When I took my first sip of Pipsqueak apple cider, an Australian brand, I described it this way: “It’s not sweet, it tastes like it’s almost on the verge of beer.” In other words, not my type. I don’t like beer. At all. Still, I suppose this was better than beer. Just a bit.
Oh, if you’ll see the picture above, the girl on the right is leaning on an inflatable chair which you can buy there for S$12. It looks really comfy, and I wish I had one, because I would later realize that it could quickly become tiring to just sit up without anything to lean on.
This was a rain or shine event, and earlier on we were worried that it would rain because the air was so humid and the clouds a bit dark. Sure enough, there was a drizzle, and I had to quickly open my umbrella. Just as I was worrying if we had to scuttle off for better protection, the rain disappeared just as quickly as it arrived, in mere seconds.
At around 7:30 pm they started playing some ads by the sponsors when, without warning, the movie began. I had already seen it on DVD before so I knew the story (my review of which you can read here), but I appreciated it even more on the big screen. While I watched it, I thought how wonderful it was to have a chance to watch such an iconic classic on the big screen. Later on, my roommate would tell me the exact same thing.
I guess there was also something more romantic about seeing it under the light of the supermoon, with a few real birds actually flying across the screen every now and then.
I fell in love with Audrey Hepburn’s beautiful face and her perfect voice as she sang Moon River on the fire exit, and I shed a tear during the cat scene in the end.
And when the end credits played, people broke into applause and I wiped away my tear as I rolled up my sleeping bag and gathered my things.
And when I drifted off to sleep that night, Moon River kept on playing in my mind, and I wished that I had Holly Golightly’s sleeping mask and ear plugs with tassels. And a cat I could name Cat. And I thought that maybe being tamed and belonging to someone is not such a bad thing after all.
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