Cinema Paradiso

Movies can wield a strange power over those who sit in the darkened seats of a theatre. The truly great ones manipulate your perception of reality, suspend your disbelief, and ultimately either alter or affirm your view on life. NUOVO CINEMA PARADISO is just such a movie. It is the near-perfect melding of direction, acting, script, sound track, and cinematography. Phillipe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio give the kind of performances usually associated with much more recognizable actors. The supporting cast looks like they could all be full-blooded Sicilians. The location shots add depth and realism to the entire production. Ennio Morricone's music is simply the most appropriate and emotive I have ever had the pleasure to hear in a theatre. Tornatore's script and direction are a joy, a breath of fresh air.

I will not spoil this story by repeating it, nor will I give away the ending, although it matters not a whit. I could disclose fully everything in this movie, and in seeing it, all my words would evaporate. There is nothing like the experience of sitting through it, becoming engulfed by it, and in the end, being changed.

This movie is wonderful. It really captures a sense of nostalgia many of us harbor in our own lives. I don't know why I put off seeing it for so long. A little boy grows up loving movies (movie people in their narcissism love movies about movies) and is mentored by an older guy who sees big things in the kid's future. A rose tinted view of youth, love, and times that never seem to stop changing is what follows and a wonderful story it makes for. One of the few movies to get a grasp on childhood along with Stand By Me, The Sandlot, and a few others. Another movie that could benefit greatly from an English dub, as too many people are too likely to avoid subtitles at all costs.

The centre of attraction in the town, a screen where everybody gathers round, showing films in black and white, bringing joy, pleasure, delight, as the reels rotate, the story is unwound. Toto's mesmerised by all he sees and hears, the picture house is where he flees and cheers, getting in Alfredo's way, mischievous eyes so full of play, Father Adelfio, still collars him for prayers. As he gets older more distractions then appear, conscription, briefly ends all premieres, a girl captures his young heart, sends his pulse right off the chart, then comes the time, when he moves on, goes overseas.

Toto's growing up in a small town in Sicily, with the joys of cinematic adventure, amongst a group of characters destined to remain as set in their ways as those captured in Pompeii. But there's always someone to help you change direction, point you at the stars and help you on your way, you just need to find them and then listen.

Still as beautiful and as elegant as it ever was.

The final scene is probably the best in the history.

After seeing this special edition DVD which shows the entire 174-minute film (in addition to the 121-minute one that most of us had seen over the years,) my rating of this film was elevated. This review is of the longer "director's cut."

Most of the new footage involved the main's character's romance while he was a young man. The story then is continued years later when that character comes back to his hometown for a funeral and runs into the woman he was in love with but never was able to get for his own. It turns out to be a somewhat tragic love story.

The first part of the film, with Salvatore Cascio as "Toto" a young boy is a love story about two people sharing their love of movies: the kid and an adult "Alfredo" (Phillpe Noiret) who runs the local movie theater. Their love of film bonds them for life.

The word "love" is used repeatedly in this review because that's the dominant theme: the love people had for others and for the world of film, something all of us on this website share.

The second and third parts of the film are the above-mentioned love story of Toto (Marco Leonardi as an adolescent and then Jacques Perrin as an adult) and "Elena" (Agnese Nano/ Brigitte Fossey). The first third of this director;s cut edition is much livelier and interesting, frankly, than the last two-thirds. Although not boring, it does drag in a few spots but the longer version is better in the long run because it makes the whole story much more meaningful.

It's very nicely filmed and you get a real feel for the Italian people and their little town. The director of the movie, Giuseppe Tornatore, went on to make other great visual films, two of which I also like: Malena and The Star Maker.....but Cinema Paradiso, I believe, is considered his "masterpiece."