Sasha G.
Yelp
I find movie theaters to be quite therapeutic and they tend to fill me with a unique sense of nostalgia as I have only the greatest of memories at "the movies." Because of this I frequent theaters often, solo or otherwise, and foreign/ independent movie theaters like the Angelika and the IFC Center in New York City are my absolute go-to's. BUT I can confidently state that the Cineteca Nacional is now my absolute favorite movie theater EVER.
I visited CN on a whim, not putting much thought into my movie choice (saw "Desierto" starring one of my favorite Mexican actors, Gael Bernal, and it was simply OK) and not truly realizing how beautiful this place is. So what I expected to be an average solo movie date quickly turned into an extraordinary experience as I was in awe at not only the size of this complex but by how well-kept and COOL it actually was. The place is adorned with cute shops (cafes, book stores, a restaurant, an adorable ice cream cart, etc.) and out door patio seating to chill before your movie, or grass to lay on. You can literally make seeing a movie a whole day outing. So on a sunny, warm day you can grab food, tan, read a book, sip an iced latte, AND watch a movie in an enormous theater which is exactly what I did. Many opted to make out on the grass... which seems to be THE thing to do in CDMX. Couples making out left and right.
As if this theater isn't great enough, my outing cost me a total of 65 pesos (movie ticket, popcorn, and drink) which is about $5 USD?!?! I would physically return to CDMX just for this but when I do I'll skip sitting next to a guy loudly slurping coffee as it caused me much frustration and an overwhelming desire to punch him in the throat since I couldn't just move my seat because you choose a seat when you purchase your ticket.