It’s not every day that a dingy old cinema near our hotels is sold, redesigned by Matali Crasset and renamed. Ladies and gentlemen, here’s our guided tour of the Nouvel Odéon.

photos (except where marked): JasonW

What a great project for independant film distributors Haut et Court; buying an ailing, grimy arthouse cinema in the heart of Saint Germain and making it into something great. Previously, you needed a great dela of motivation to go see a film at the Racine Odéon, the place’s previous name. The entrance was more like descending into Hades…

The old cinema, the Racine Odéon. photo: Wikipedia

Now, the place is unrecognisable, thanks to French star designer Matali Crasset who has restructured and redesigned the space. You’ll find wood, bright colours and above all a lot of light! A new entrance has been created, and the old one is now a large pane of glass that illuminates the « eating bar » that they’ve just opened. The various levels are accentuated by the graphic lines of metal bars, with a different colour for each area.If you walk up a few stapes, you can sit on the small read lounge area (where it was incredibly hot the day we went by) and look over the whole space. This part of the room can’t be accessed by wheelchair users, but a lift does go down to the lower level (and for such a small space, it’s worth mentioning).Crasset wanted to figuratively ‘open up’ the cinema (usually a dark, hermetic box) to light. This philosophy even extends to showing the projector…Even the door to the cinema itself is designer! The auditorium has been completely overhauled, with the number of seats reduced to 120 (because of the new entrance), the sound system is new, and there’s a digital projector for the best possible image as well as 3D showings if required. Once sitting, you’ll have a clear view of the good-size screen. We really enjoyed the great image and pummeling sound of Black Swan

photo: Jérôme Spriet

But the Nouvel Odéon cinema is more than just pretty. Arthouse films have been shown here for nearly forty years, and they’ll be continuing with a careful selection of quality films, shown in the best possible conditions. Also, as each seat is numbered, you can book exactly the seat you like directly on the cinema’s website (this function is currently inactive, but should be returning soon). They also have some interesting special showings, such as a monthly showing especially for adults with babies under 10 months old (it’s on a certain Saturday at 11am). They turn the sound down a bit, the lights up a bit, and there’s a changing table and nappies available! Films are always shown there in their original version (i.e. not dubbed into French), so there’s a fair chance you’ll come across an English-language film.We had a great time at the Nouvel Odéon, and – handily – it’s two minutes from the Hôtel Jardin de l’Odéon and Hôtel Design Sorbonne (click here to see it on the map). Smart, designer, with some good films on offer, this is a cinema that we heartily recommend!

Official site (in French): www.nouvelodeon.com