A few days ago, my wife looked up from the living room and asked: “So, I’m alone again today?” I was puzzled. She was watching television. I was in the next room watching a World Cup match on my computer. The distance between us could not have been more than 15 feet. “No,” I replied. “I’m right here.” She smiled politely, the way spouses do when they know they are right and their partner has not yet figured it out.

The conversation continued later that day. I mentioned a movie I had recently watched and told her I thought she would enjoy it. That was my second mistake. My first mistake had been watching the movie without her. She explained that there is a profound difference between watching a movie together for the first time and having one person watch it after the other has already seen it. At first, I dismissed the distinction. Then I thought about it. And, as often happens after 44 years of marriage, I realized she was teaching me something. The issue was never the movie. The issue was the experience.

When two people sit down to watch a film for the first time, they embark on a small journey together. Neither........

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