Margaritas and Mel Gibson.

Outdoor movies have always been part of Greek summer life. One of the delights of visiting, or living in Greece is the summer cinema.

When we first came to Greece in 1964, we where exposed to the outdoor cinema. Being from Brooklyn where the movies were a Saturday event with a double feature as well as cartoons, I could not imagine an outdoor movie.

We were in Edipso, on the island of Evia visiting family; it was a discovery of roots as well as new experiences.

The town set up a screen, actually a sheet on the side of a building, the projector made more noise than the sound track. A woman on a balcony of the building where the film was being projected watched the movie upside down. I have no idea what we paid, I am sure my cousin treated.

We dragged chairs and refreshments from home and settled in the square to watch the movie. A scratchy black and white movie in Greek. We had to wait for it to get dark so we could see the film. Everybody gathered hours before, it was a once a week ritual, the projector made the rounds all over the island, Edipso got it on Thursday, I think. People made visits to their homes or the tavernas for refreshment as well as the proverbial ice cream sellers that were always there.

On all our subsequent trips, before we retired here, the outdoor cinema was always a must. It did not matter what was playing, the worst film gets better when you see it outdoors in a Greek village, even if that village is Athens.

I remember going to a cinema in Plaka, and it was on the roof of a building. This cinema had an amazing view of the Acropolis, so even if the movie sucks, you have one of the best views in Greece.

We now are retired in a rather sophisticated town in the Peloponnese. There are foreigners as well as locals here. Our local cinema, the Cinema Star, gets us all together. It has its own space and a proper screen, with good sound and a refreshment booth, with traditional popcorn as well as all the drinks you can imagine. It is also used for town events; the school plays, etc. are held there.

We never miss a movie, no matter what is playing; there are two shows, one at 9, and the other at 11. Lately, they get the latest films and you see first run films. I kind of miss the old scratchy B/W films and the screen being a sheet hung on a building, if I remember correctly the sheets sometimes had a flower print on it.

With progress have come some innovations in all the areas. Drinks are more than homemade wine, and soft drinks. The other night we were offered mixed drinks, not only, Gin and tonics, but Margaritas as well as Mojitos, and even Caipirinhas, a.k.a.Guyperinias, what is Greece coming to?

We saw the latest Mel Gibson movie,“The Edge Of Darkness” and we had Margaritas. This is not the Greece of before, but it ain’t bad.

Margaritas and Mel, I am sure he would have approved.