Vika Kino, Oslo > Reviews (1)

Oslo

I have not travelled much in my years and it was a conscious decision I made one New Years Eve to try very hard to find a way to travel somewhere new in the world every so often. I have a real preoccupation with the Nordic countries and had set my heart on going to one of them on last years jaunt. My partner and I decided that we would go together on a short-break to Oslo, the reason being simply that I do have to travel as much on a shoestring as I can, and we were able to get very cheap flights out to Oslo Rygge airport with Ryanair from Stansted- I was a bit nervous however at how expensive it might be when we were over there-as it is rather renowned for that! We travelled in December 2011 in order to enjoy Oslo at Christmastime!

Vika Kino, Oslo

Well many of you may already know my partner and I are mad on film but more importantly cinema. We love to experience new cinemas, especially independent cinemas, and foreign film, festivals, the lot. It was something we set out to do at some point to go see a Norwegian film while we were in Oslo, if time so allowed, as well as very much wanting to visit the Film Museum there. Whilst in Oslo, we soon began seeing cinemas around the city, of which there were several, and it became apparent that they were all linked in a way that you often don't come across over here. Hence when you see listings in the paper, or in local media, they cover all the cinemas together and you can decide on a film and then see where its on to go to that cinema. It would appear that certain cinemas show certain films for instance the big blockbusters whereas another cinema will show the smaller, or art-house films, or mostly children's ones.

On the evening we decided to see a film, we headed into a couple of them to look at the listings before finally deciding upon a Norwegian film at the Vika Kino, and we headed over there. A lovely cinema it was too. The location is lovely, right on the doorstep of the Opera Concert house near some nearby shops, bars and restaurants. The entrance is what I would call a double-frontage place with glass windows and the cinema name in large letters above it. As you would expect in the windows there was advertising and promotional materials for several films which were soon to come. As we entered it was a very relaxed kind of place, which clearly attracted not just cinema-goers but also everyday cafe-goers as well with tables and chairs to the right hand side where people could relax with drinks and food, and chat. This was something that took me as liking to some independent places you come across in Britain for instance the Picturehouse at Cambridge, however a stark contrast to the chain places such as the Cineworld we frequent in Bedford, which lacks any kind of spirit or community character.

We looked up to the electronic listings screen on the far right, and saw the film we were considering, starting soon, however we started to doubt whether it was such a good idea to see a Norwegian film which had no English subtitles...

As such we went up to the counter assistant and sparked up conversation with her about it- in English thank heavens! We asked whether she thought the storyline of the film would be easy enough to follow despite our ignorance of Norwegian language...sadly she explained that the film which was a sequel would be very complex to understand through picture alone, especially with no knowledge of the characters which were well-known to many Norwegians. A little disappointed, but glad to have been advised in a really open and friendly and informed way, we ultimately decided that that film was to be a no-go and debated whether to still see a film. We did!

But first we frequented the confectionary/snack shop for provisions! I loved that this cinema offered not just your bog-standard over-inflated priced popcorn and drinks, but a wide and varied selection of things. There was pick and mix but also a wide range of Norwegian sweets and chocolates, hot and cold drinks, all manner of ice-creams, slush-puppy-style drinks, savoury snacks, the whole shebang! Although they were expensive in comparison to what we would pay in Britain in our shops, simply because of the difference in cost of living between Britain and Norway, compared to Cinema prices over here they were relatively inoffensive. I ended up getting some nice warm corn crisps, a drink and an ice-cream nyom nyom!

We got our tickets for the film "50/50"- an US populist film about a young lad discovering her has cancer. My partners ticket was NOK 100 I think (which equates approx. to £10) but I got mine at a reduced rate as a student at NOK 85. Had we been in earlier in the afternoon in the week it would have been at a reduced rate, but this was the evening. So we followed a beautiful set of stairs downstairs where each of the 4 screens could be found. The building itself was so atmospheric-it has some age and so had some lovely features too. We entered our screen and found a seat in our preferred 'visual/acoustic sweetspot" (Big bang theory reference for all you fans!). The seats were comfortable, you had plenty of legroom and could get settled. The film itself was what it was...quite a good one that I would have seen in Britain anyway but it was good seeing it there because I greatly enjoyed watching all the Norwegian subtitles throughout the film to try to get a flavour of the language.

So that was about it...after we left our screen my partner was quite impressed that we could see a CCTV screen showing each of the 4 screens in night-vision so that any would-be pirates could be spotted or anyone behaving in a not very appropriate way-he thought that his cinema should have a similar system to that! Before we left, I used the facilities which were basic, but nice enough and clean. Would recommend this cinema if you are into cinema-going like us. Yes it is rather pricey but the price is fixed around the city's cinemas, and in actual fact it is comparable to going to the cinema in our big city London which is equally as pricey. Its the kind of experience in Oslo I'm glad we did...but wouldn't go to this particular one again...but instead try another of the cinemas-each looked to have their own unique look and character which appeals to me.