Nie Iluzjon
And what's more, it's the "Iluzjon" cinema - home to Filmoteka Narodowa, Poland's national film archive.
Where else in this country could you expect to watch on a big screen the first film ever made in Poland - a scratchy print of 1902's "Powrót Birbanta". Or a good ole Russian propaganda flick like 1925's "Pancernik" about a Russian naval ship? Or what about devouring a veritable feast of Cary Grant or Marlon Brando movies? Or catching a screening of the first, and spookiest, Dracula film - "Nosferatu" - which was made in Germany in 1922?
The answer is kino Iluzjon.
"We are the only cinema in Poland that shows such old movies," said Grażyna Grabowska, Iluzjon's director of programming. "Iluzjon is unique."
First opened in 1951 to screen the vast collection of movies stored in the nation's film archives, Iluzjon arrived at its current home in a suburban Mokotów park in 1997.
In its heyday under communism, the laws required that all Polish films, as well as all foreign films that were allowed into the country by the nation's censor, to be kept in the national archives. What that means is that there is a veritable treasure trove in its storeroom - everything from Woody Allen's earlier works to films by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, Elia Kazan's "Viva Zapata", or a copy of a rare hand-coloured film from 1919 - the German-made "Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari", a silent movie which is screened at Iluzjon with either piano or orchestral accompaniment.
"And of course the communist system also forced us to show a certain number of films from Bulgaria, Romania or Hungary - countries from the Eastern Bloc," said Grabowska, who has worked with Filmoteka for 13 years. "So we did have to show some trash."
After 1989's collapse of communism, the film world suddenly became very different for Iluzjon. The big film distributors started bringing in their own wares. Typically these companies have the film rights for five years before the prints are destroyed, and no copies are stored in the national archives.
So these days, with only 50% of its funding coming from the government and the cinema running on a strictly nonprofit basis, Filmoteka cannot afford to pay the expensive fees to access film prints not in its archives. Consequently, Iluzjon often has to rely on the generosity of foreign embassies or cultural and educational organisations, such as Germany's Goethe Institute or the British Council, for films.
The majority of these films are screened in their original languages with Polish subtitles.
While the Iluzjon cinema is no great beauty when compared with its slick younger cousins, the cinema multiplex, there is something charming about its typically 1950s design. It's a squat concrete building with gentle curves, old glass doors, grey marble floors and a recent attempt at interior design that combines lime green formica and cork tiles! The little snack bar is a wonder: most of the shelves are empty. Adjoining the cinema is an atmospheric café with old tables and chairs and over stuffed couches - just right for a pre- or post-show supper or a game of chess.
Grabowska said that the number of customers has declined in the past decade, but the cinema still continues to attract a core of regulars.
"Our audience has not changed," she said. "We still get young people, mainly students, and those looking for some depth in their films. The reason we have less customers is because there are so many more cinemas available now, and there is not such a hunger to see foreign films because they are available directly."
But for Grabowska, it's the cinema of yesterday that will always hold her interest.
"I love old films because they are interesting and more educational," she said. "Nowadays, most of the films are commercialised - especially the American films. They are looking only for profits and use special effects, but they have no depth."
Iluzjon cinema is at ul. Narbutta 50a, where you can also pick up a monthly programme. Tel. 646 1260. The chess café, which features occasional musical nights, adjoins.
