This article was originally published in Boston Compass #60 (January ’15)

The Brattle Theatre
40 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA

It is 2014.

Video stores are nearly dead, and independent movie theaters are not very far behind as you scan the endangered-business-model list. A place like the Brattle is a survivor, a fighter. A place like the Brattle fights a daily battle, year-in year-out, to continue providing the experience of going to the movies for people who love adventurous cinema, classic cinema, and just plain interesting movies.

Clearly, enough people agree with the Brattle’s mission to keep this cinema afloat, and thank goodness for that. Pause for just a moment, though, and appreciate the efforts behind keeping an artistic portal like the Brattle Theatre up and running.

I’ve had so many good times at the Brattle, and I’ve learned so much and seen so many things there, that it’s hard to imagine a world without it. Go to the Brattle. Buy a membership. Bring your friends there. Support the place so that it remains with us forever.

I was recently at the Brattle with (almost) my entire family. This living Harvard Square film museum is one of the very few artistic institutions in the Boston area that all members of my family are capable of enjoying. That right there is worthy of celebration. They are to be commended for the perfect balance they are constantly able to strike between art films, Hollywood popcorn fare, and out-and-out weirdness. I. Love. This. Place.

— Dan Shea