Laughing in a Barrel

In January of 1983 I was stuck for five days in a very cold Brussels waiting to continue my trip to Kenya. I noticed advertisements for a film festival and with some asking around found the theater and bought a ticket. The only English language film that was showing was "Diner" and the theater was huge. As the film began I noticed that half the screen was taken up by subtitles, one in French the other in Flemish. Now "Diner" is a funny film, not slap stick, but very funny and I was laughing. The only one laughing in a theater of a thousand or more people. My big laugh was echoing all over that place and I could have cared less. I imagine my fellow theater goers squinting at the sub titles trying to decipher the meaning of what could possibly be so funny. Diner is still one of my favorite movies and that night in January it was the perfect medicine for a cold, home sick student.