Les Grignoux (where to see an English-language film, in English.)

Tchantchès and I are firm believers that it's best to see a film in its original language, that is to say that we feel what an actor does with their voice is a big part of acting, and we prefer to hear the real voice of the actor onscreen as opposed to a voice dubbed in.  Fortunately there is a group of cinemas in Liège that allows us to indulge this preference, as they routinely present films in their "version-originale" or "V.O.".  This group of 3 movie houses is called "Les Grignoux", and they present a variety of films ranging from mainstream to art-house and festival flicks, almost always in their original version (with French subtitles, of course.)

Because the English-language film industry is one of the largest in the world, a great number of current Anglo-films play at these 3 cinemas throughout the year.  The only trick to finding a film you may hope to see here is to remember that it is common for English films to be given a different name in order to make the title as enticing as possible to the French audience.  Although the films may be presented in V.O. at Les Grignoux, the names given on the listings of film times and locations will likely be the French name.

"A Beautiful Mind" = "Un Homme D'Exception"

Handily, the Grignoux's website is well constructed, and by clicking on the name of a film (you can do so directly from their opening page,) you will be directed to an information page for the film which shows the films poster art, a brief synopsis of the premise, language, and runtime, and quite often an embedded video window will allow you to view a cinematic trailer (which will also be in the original language of the film.)  If you've very little French, it takes a tiny bit of clicking about the site to figure out what films you may be interested in seeing, but it's pretty easy.

To Note: Release dates for films can at times, vary greatly between places.  Les Grignoux is respectful of the laws concerning release dates, and therefore will not play a film before it is legal to do so in Belgium, even if the film may have been released weeks before in other parts of the world.  It is common for those of us in Liège to have to wait a few additional weeks for the release into cinemas of an English film.

A weekend, holiday, or evening viewing (after 6pm) at Les Grignoux costs 6 euro.  If, however, you are seeing a film that starts before 6pm on a weekday (one which is not a holiday,) you can expect to pay a reduced ticket price that ranges between 4 (for films with noon-hour starts) and just less than 5 euro (for films starting after 2pm but before 6pm.)  As well, those with official identification proving they are not yet 21 years of age may receive a reduction in their ticket price.

If you happen to be spending a longer period of time in Liège and enjoy the cinema or if you live in Liège, Les Grignoux also sell a 10-movie pass, which costs 45 euro, has no expiry date, and which allows the pass-holder to use more than one of the "10 films" at the same time (meaning you can bring a date/friend(s) to a film with you by using up another spot(s) on your pass.)

There is also a member card for Les Grignoux, which costs 3 euro and reduces the price of each evening seance you attend to 5 euro from the normal 6, provided you present the card when purchasing your ticket.

Two of the cinemas (The Churchill and The Sauvenière,) are located in the downtown area of the city, with the last (The Parc) being located a little further out from the downtown in the area known as Liège-Droixhe.

To reach the website for Les Grignoux (which includes film times and locations,) click here.