Review of Cinema Paradiso (1988) by Devon B — 26 Jun 2011

Writer/director Giuseppe Tornatore seemed heavily inspired by Fellini's 1973 film "Amarcord", but with a love story steeped in the cinematic tradition. The story follows young Salvatore 'Toto' Di Vita, a kid growing up in a small italian village whose soul lies in the cinema. His hero, Alfredo, is the projectionist at the "Cinema Paradiso", the movie theater that doubles as the church in the daytime. In fact, the local priest is in charge of 'censoring' all the racy content from the films shown in the theater, having Alfredo cut out any scene where two people kiss. The boy grows into a teen and falls in love with a beautiful girl who's father doesn't approve, and the two are destined to be separated. All the while, and under Alfredo's encouragement, Toto continues to develop his love of the cinema into other practical applications, including making his own films. Salvatore winds up leaving the village and does not return for 30 years, and then only for Alfredo's funeral. He finds much has changed in the village, but there are also several ghosts from his past still lingering about the empty buildings.

A lot of passion went into making Cinema Paradiso, there's a lot of it up on the screen; some elements are painful and some are joyful, how well one can relate to it depends on the life one has lived. Chuck Berry once said: "Everyone, if not now, someday will have been in love, or remember love, so why not write a song about that?". A love story is perhaps the most obvious way to go when writing something from the heart. The trick to this film is, the true love story is between Toto and the cinema, in spite of what we are led to believe when we are led to believe otherwise. The slightest little hook at the end of the film, and the whole tone is changed.