Section 19: Mobile movie
"The fleeting radiance of time" The Passage of Time There was a wonderful nostalgia associated with "open-air cinema." For today's children, open-air movies evoke a sense of a bygone era. However, those who experienced that time know that the love for open-air movies is a shared reminiscence among the residents of Bahau Village.
When mentioned, open-air movies evoke a strong sense of nostalgia in middle-aged and elderly individuals. As a child living in Air Hitam Village, during the 1950s and 1960s, when the village had no electricity and entertainment options were scarce, the owner of Air Hitam Plantation would provide free outdoor movie screenings for the village's employees. These outdoor movies were a significant event and the sole source of leisure and entertainment for the residents. Serving as a collective memory for a generation, open-air movies filled the void in their limited cultural and entertainment lives, becoming synonymous with "beauty" and "youth."
Spreading Happiness in Plantation Area The movie screening team would alternate between showing Indian and Chinese-language films every week. The open-air screening venue consisted of three long wooden poles, two of which were firmly planted in the ground, while the third was tied horizontally on top. A thick cloth screen was hung from the structure. A small projector and generator were set up several tens of meters away, allowing the movies to be viewed.
On movie screening days, the entire village would change their daily routines. Chores and cooking were completed early, and even before darkness fell, groups of people with small stools would eagerly make their way to the screening site. Grandmothers would lead their grandchildren, mothers would carry their nursing babies, and older siblings would guide their younger brothers and sisters. The whole community would mobilize, anxious to secure a seat in the front row, close to the screen, for fear of missing out on a good spot.
During the waiting time before the screening, adults engaged in conversations, sharing stories and anecdotes, joyfully expressing themselves. In the pleasant night breeze, laughter filled the air, imbued with a sense of contentment. Under the starry sky, the projectionist busily prepared for the screening. The "movie" commenced, accompanied by the familiar whirring sound of the film reel and the emergence of the beam of light. This not only brought back the nostalgic ambiance but also enlivened the cultural life of the entire village. The projector was placed amidst the crowd, and during trial screenings, viewers sitting in front of the beam would often playfully create various hand shadow figures projected onto the screen, resembling different animals. Many people delighted in this playful trick.
Time • Yesterday • Today 71-year-old Lee Fook They (李福娣)reminisces about her time working in Air Hitam Plantation area, where they would feature actors such as Zhang Ying(张瑛), Huang Manli(黄曼梨), Xia Ping(夏萍), Bai Yan(白燕), Jiang Yifan(江一帆), Wu Chufan(吴楚帆), and others in the movies shown. Open-air movies were often chosen as a delightful destination for couples on a date. In the early 1960s, if one wished to watch a movie starring Lin Bo(林波) or Ge Lan(葛兰), they had to personally purchase tickets at Happy Theater Bahau.
In 1968, I relocated from Air Hitam Village to Kampung China (now known as Kampung Indah). During that time, the surroundings of Chi Wen Primary School and the vast grassland in Bahau used to host lively open-air movie screenings, providing us with the opportunity to enjoy them. However, by the mid-1970s, as the standard of living improved, households progressively acquired televisions, starting with black-and-white ones, and later transitioning to color screens
postscript: Open-air movies were a lively form of popular entertainment that gradually faded from the stage of history with the development of society and the improvement of people's living standards. However, there are always moments in the darkness of night and the first glow of the city lights when memories of starry skies, cicada songs, and sitting on small stools in front of the screen flash through one's mind...