Review of Cinema Paradiso (1988) by Paul J — 10 Dec 2013

A very sweet and unapologetic movie. Like the magnificent score, it's shameless in its sentimentality and nostalgia. There is such a tremendous affection for movies here (nicely summed up in the end). Yet, this sentimentality works because we see the majority of the film in flashback. It's in our hero's memory. The death at the beginning sparks the memories of his own life, almost as if it were a movie. And his life is all about watching movies. The actual theatre called Cinema Paradiso is at the center of the town as well as our protagonist's life, not to mention, the movie itself. It's the center of everything. It's a metaphor for the church.

After all, post-WWII, movies were more than just entertainment, they helped us understand what we went through. Both what we did wrong and what we did right. The church metaphor is so crucial in this film. It's about people coming together - communion. Cinema is the secular version of the church. The body and blood of Christ are supposed to be transcendent, like a movie. Film transcends the ordinary world by appearing on the silver screen. In fact, the Italian translation of Diva and Devo are Diety (Goddess) and Man (God-like). So, movie stars are like bread and wine. Audiences identify with the divine in the fandom and love of celebrities.

Interesting to note, that right from the first shot, loneliness and singularity are addressed. Throughout, we get the feeling of a love lost or an absence and void. The little allegory about the man who waited 99 nights is a reference to the love that can never be as good as we imagine it to be. Like the love in a movie, it's a dream. So unconsummated love is what it always comes back to. Just like the illusory nature of movies. A beautiful and bittersweet sentiment.