As the sun set on Stereosonic, friends, families and couples in comfy jeans and warm knits lined up on the other side of the city for the opening night of the Opel Moonlight Cinema. Set against the greenery of Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens and adorned with fairy lights, Australia’s favourite open-air cinema brought its own kind of magical ambience to the weekend.
For first-timers, picnic rugs and blankets are a must ($7 to hire a bean bag), and while you can BYO food and drinks, the Moonlight Cinema menu is anything but ordinary – including salt and pepper squid, Wagyu steak sandwiches and Mediterranean vegetable & goat's chevre panini. The eclectic yet affordable menu, coupled with $18 for a standard ticket or $32 for “Gold Grass” seating makes for that slightly cheaper and quirkier alternative to a normal night out at the movies.
Dustin Hoffman-directed Quartet kicked off the night; an unusual yet interesting film to start the 2012-2013 season. Starring Billy Connolly, Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon, Quartet chronicles the reunion of a world-famous opera quartet. An inappropriate, sexually provocative yet lovable man, his best friend – heartbroken and formerly married to a well known diva of her time, and a meek, forgetful woman suffering from dementia all made for an entertaining and unpredictable cast. All in all, a feel good film definitely made for an older crowd, given the themes ageing gracefully, rekindled love and friendships and endless possibility.
If you’re looking for a relaxed night out in Adelaide, head into the city just off Plane Tree Drive. The service is friendly, the setting is relaxed and magical, and it really is like no other ordinary night out at the movies.
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