Review of Cinema Paradiso (1988) by Antonio F — 07 Jul 2009

This is a movie that anyone who loves the pastime of movies will surely love instantly. Cinema Paradiso is a celebration of the enjoyment of film and it shows that it is an activity that can engage huge throngs of people.

It is a very nostalgic film in more ways than one, which is probably a big reason why it resonates with so many people. It takes you on a journey back in time to small town Sicily in the 1940s and 50s through the flashbacks of the main character Salvatore (a.

K.a. Toto), a successful filmmaker in modern-day Rome. Since it was an era before people in the small town had televisions or videotape players, the only way to get motion picture entertainment from the outside world was through the townâ??s movie house, the Cinema Paradiso.

From the impact the theater had on the townsfolk, Toto could see the magic that the movies give off. They would feed the spirits of the hardworking people and give them a sense of a tight-knit community that would later disappear with the prevalence of television and home video.

Totoâ??s curiosity leads him to befriend the projectionist, Alfredo, who becomes his mentor and surrogate father figure. There is a tragic event that happens in the theaterâ??s projection room in the first part of the movie, and I guess I should have seen it coming since it was foreshadowed.

Little Toto is such a rascally child, and an endearing character, who will break his motherâ??s rules to sneak into the theater for full night of shows. Eventually, he is played by a teenage actor, who takes the story on a romantic turn.

I have read that in a much longer directorâ??s cut this plot goes on much longer, and that Toto is reunited with his young love in the present day. I think, however, that the nearly 2-hour theatrical cut could be long enough, and that it was probably wise to edit it down.

It leaves the young-love storyline at a mysterious, more true to life ending and the adolescent story is balanced nicely with the story of Toto as a young child. This debate over the versions goes on, but it was the theatrical edit that won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1989.

The filmâ??s story is not only about the love of film by a town full of colorful characters, but also about a manâ??s relationship with his estranged hometown full of strong memories of family, an influential old friend, and a first love.