Years pass and seasons change in the West University neighborhood. New faces replace the familiar ones as fresh buildings go up and old buildings come down. Even the ancient Max’s Tavern
received a facelift. Tens of thousands of University of Oregon students take residency here one year, and move on to start their lives the next. For the past three decades, the only constant that has remained on the west side of campus has been the formidable and long-lived Bijou Art Cinemas – the campus and community source for the independent, foreign and art films that fly below the radar of mall multiplexes. For every new student unfamiliar with the area, seeing a flick at the Bijou should be a critical addition on your things-to-do-before-you-graduate list.

Situated between Mill and Ferry Streets along 13th Avenue, the Bijou’s brown stucco exterior, high-arching cathedral ceiling and bright yellow marquee make it a hard-to-miss architectural anomaly amidst its surroundings. The Spanish mission-style building was constructed as a church more than 80 years ago by a former University architecture dean, and was turned on its head when Bijou founder Michael Lamont bought the vacant building in 1980 and brought his 35-millimeter projectors with him.
Lamont, who passed away last winter at the age of 62 because of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease, was
successful in opening and maintaining the only spot in town with two screens that play nothing but independent films.
Lamont’s vision and legacy are still going strong, as the iconic staple of Eugene that he created continues its operation after nearly thirty years.
This week’s movie lineup plays as an ode to the slacker in all of us. “Choke” is author Chuck Palahniuk’s latest movie adaptation, starring Sam Rockwell as a sex-addicted med-school dropout who chokes in fancy restaurants so rich people will give him money. “Transsiberian” stars perpetual slacker Woody Harrelson as he and counterparts get tangled in a web of drug trafficking during a train ride across Asia. Set in the lush and fertile lands of Northern California, “Humboldt County” is about, well, I’m sure you already know. But for those who don’t, it revolves around a medical student who loses his way in the “Lost Coast,” a region of California inhabited by hippies who live off their farming of marijuana.
This past Saturday, for one time only, came Michael Moore’s lightly-publicized and freely distributed “Slacker Uprising.” Budgeted at $2 million, Moore will make no money off this film that urges the non-voting “slackers” of this generation to play a part.
General admission to the Bijou is $4 before 6 p.m., $6 Sunday through Wednesday and $7 Thursday through Saturday.
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