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A personal look at how cinema audiences influenced movie experiences in 2025, from a solo screening of Shaolin Soccer 2 to the MIFF premiere of First Nations documentaries.
In 2025, the quality of the cinema crowd significantly shaped the moviegoing experience, as illustrated by two contrasting screenings: a solo viewing of Stephen Chow's Shaolin Soccer 2 at Doncaster Shopping Centre on a Thursday at 10am, and the premiere of four short documentaries by Victorian First Nations filmmakers at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August. These experiences highlight how audience dynamics can make or break a film.
Solitary Screening of Shaolin Soccer 2
Shaolin Soccer 2 is a kooky film, starring Chow himself, about a former Shaolin monk who reunites with five old friends to bring supernatural martial-arts powers to the soccer pitch. It is a celebrated example of mou lei tau, a cinematic style synonymous with Chow – absurdist physical comedy full of rapid-fire Cantonese dialogue. However, much has changed in special effects, movie marketing, and relations between Hong Kong and mainland China since Chow made the original.
I had been following online commentary about the big-budget, star-studded sequel – the box office loves it; long-term Chow fans do not – and I was curious to see it for myself. Naturally, I chose a session at Doncaster Shopping Centre on a Thursday at 10am. I was the only person there, apart from one man sitting a few rows in front of me.
The opening scenes were funny, but the movie quickly devolved into shouting matches, immeasurable stakes, and AI effects that looked glossy and cheap. I was bored. The other person was bored, too. He turned on his phone around the 20-minute mark and did not turn it off again.
Who was this man, not watching Shaolin Soccer 2 on a Thursday? Soon I was projecting all sorts of things onto him, based on translated reviews I had read on the Chinese Douban review site. I kept thinking about one anonymous Douban poster, a lifelong Chow fan, who had given the film a one-star review, with the doleful title, Goodbye Stephen Chow, goodbye youth. This reviewer had complained – aptly, I began to think – that the humour in Shaolin Soccer 2 was like someone forcibly tickling your armpit. The reviewer had also compared the experience to attending a miserable high school reunion.
The man in row G, I began to imagine, was scrolling through his phone to stave off existential despair. I began to shrink from the movie further myself, based on his example, even though I knew it was a popcorn movie that you are supposed to see with friends. In the end, my Shaolin Soccer 2 experience was a strange episode of boredom, vicarious nostalgia, and confirmation bias.
Notable Cinema Moments of 2025
There have been other interesting moments at the cinema this year. A special shout-out to the woman who got up suddenly during a tense point in the horror movie, causing everyone around her to shriek. And to the bloke who brought drama to the dreariness of another film by snapping, Will you two shut the hell up? at two whispering Salomon-footed heterosexuals sitting behind him at Cinema Nova. I think this gentleman might have provided the young lovers with a shared enemy at a critical stage in their relationship. I wish all three well.
First Nations Documentaries Premiere at MIFF
The premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August was a screening of four short documentaries by Victorian First Nations filmmakers. It was a premiere, so there was an element of glamour to the night. There were speeches and a red carpet, plus lots of industry types as well as cast, crew, and filmmakers’ family and friends – all adding to the electric atmosphere.
Though the films broached painful subjects, there was an overarching theme of resilience, and many moments of humour, joy, and beauty. There were cheers from the crowd, at times, when familiar faces appeared on screen, and gasps during certain lingering shots. One film, about young First Nations people in Melbourne’s electronic music scene, featured some incisive commentary around questions of bodily sovereignty as well as scenes of liberation and transcendence. Pride permeated the whole cinema. It was infectious. Nothing still or meditative about that night in the cinema at all.
Stephen Chow Shaolin Soccer 2 Melbourne International Film Festival First Nations Filmmakers Doncaster Shopping Centre Cinema Nova Douban
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