The most gratifying piece of film making I have ever seen, "Paradiso" is one of the few films that I can watch time and again. Director Tornatore brings a passion to the film which seeps out of every frame and invites the viewer to revisit their youth, their hopes, their dreams and the crushing truth of reality. You will not see a more beautiful, haunting film than this. Phillipe Noiret gives the performance of his life (one which he played a subtle riff on in " Il Postino") and Ennio Morricone's score ranks right up there as his best. For true junkies like myself I would highly recommend getting a hold of the director's cut in which an additional 50 minutes of material is added. While as a whole it is not as good a movie (Tornatore clearly needed a forceful editor) it does provide insight into what happeneed to Toto's beloved Elena and surprises viewers with a heart-wrenching plot twist which was cut from the original.
Review of Cinema Paradiso
