Erstellt am: 2. 9. 2010 - 15:37 Uhr

Alphaville Will Stay Forever Young

That's what happens when you cease to exist at thirteen.

Alphaville's thirteen-year reign as THE (rental) international film Mecca in Vienna's trendy fourth district is over. This makes me sad on a few levels. I became emotionally invested in a video/DVD store that was actually kind of grungy and not really all that aesthetically pleasing. I even once chose an apartment to rent because of its close proximity to Alphaville.
The little store in the Freihausviertel was a meeting place for ex-patriots. Not only native English-speaking ones, all people who were looking for films from their country of birth. The clientele represented the sentimental, the curious, the obsessed, the type of people who want to maybe not just escape their parameters with a film but escape their geographical position for just a few hours too.

radio fm4 einoeder

I don’t mean to exaggerate but ... you know there are some houses or buildings or even rooms you can walk into and suddenly feel like you’re in a different time or your mood changes automatically just from the vibe of the place? That’s what it was like in Alphaville for me. I somehow felt like I was with what I ridiculously call ‘my people’. The multi-culti’s and those who are tolerant of and open to the multi-culti’s and oh yeah! The connoisseurs of the type of movies I love were featured players at Alphaville. When the Fellini or Almodovar movie I wanted to rent was not in store, I wasn’t even upset because it meant that there were people in my neighbourhood who were into my favourite movie-makers.

radio fm4 einoeder

I gotta say, the staff at Alphaville made the time I spent there really special too. Totally helpful, totally bilingual, totally up for a chat and totally fair. If I returned a film and said it didn’t work (in my admittedly crappy DVD player), the staff took my word for it and I didn’t have to pay the rental fee. I’m sorry but in this day and age when it feels like everybody wants to make a buck no matter what, this type of approach to business was not only refreshing but somehow gave a feeling of being respected.

radio fm4 einoeder

So, Alphaville is shutting down. Is it because you don’t really need a foreign-language video shop anymore because most DVDs offer several language choices? Is it because people are too busy downloading the films they want to see to bother renting a DVD? Is it because the Alphaville team and its owner were just OVER running the shop? Is it a cobination of these reasons? I dunno. All I know is that Alphaville was a great little enterprise and while I wish everyone affiliated with it lots of luck, I will miss the place that made me feel far away and at home…baby.