Review of Cinema Paradiso (1988) by Ivan D — 22 Dec 2009
As Giuseppe Tornatore himself stated, "Cinema Paradiso" is an obituary to the old-time moviegoing audiences and the theaters that once brought joy and endless wonders to them. Unlike other films dealing with epilogues of certain themes (such as Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven"), "Cinema Paradiso" offers an optimistic farewell, of course not without tears.
And through the magic of the movies we meet two people, Alfredo the projectionist and Toto, the aspiring one. Their father-son-like friendship grows through the years, until Toto went away and became a filmmaker.
The rhythm of the film is like that of Fellini's "8 1/2", although "Paradiso" is more frequent in the flashbacks. In the end, they all wept, as (SPOILERS!) the theater was finally demolished, and as Alfredo said, do not remember any Nostalgia, life must go on.
But once in a while, it is unbearable not to look back at certain memories: childhood, first kiss, moments of embarassment, friends, because these things are the foundation of our spirits and our motivation to move on.
This review of Cinema Paradiso (1988) was written by Ivan D on 22 Dec 2009.
Cinema Paradiso has generally received very positive reviews.
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