Directed by:
Giuseppe TornatoreScreenplay:
Giuseppe TornatoreCinematography:
Blasco GiuratoCast:
Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Salvatore Cascio, Leo Gullotta, Isa Danieli, Pupella Maggio, Agnese Nano, Tano Cimarosa, Jacques Perrin, Brigitte Fossey (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
"Alfredo is dying." Those words jolt the successful filmmaker Salvatore (played as a child by Salvatore Cascio, as a teen by Marco Leonardi, and as an adult by Jacques Perrin), into contemplating his childhood and the hours he spent in the projection booth of his adored local movie theater, Cinema Paradiso. Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), owner of the moviehouse, befriended and encouraged young Salvatore, known as "Toto" as he grew up in his small Sicilian home town, ravaged by the horrors of the war. The cinema offered escape and fantasy to the townspeople, including Toto's mother, a grieving war widow. In one breathtaking scene a popular comedy is projected onto the walls of the town square and the entire town glows in the dreamy light of projected celluloid, washing away the harsh realities of poverty and grief. As Toto grows to manhood, his friendship with his mentor deepens. With the love and guidance of the aging man, Toto navigates the trials of first love and builds on his ever-growing passion for the cinema. Ultimately, it is Alfredo who convinces Toto to leave his village to pursue his dreams of becoming a director. But as Salvatore thinks back on his youthful romances and his innocent love of movies, he comes to realize that perhaps his success has come at a very high price. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (9)
At first glance, it's a wildly neorealist film, but on closer inspection, it's somewhat straightforward about how the world around a person changes. And on the third look, it's a beautiful film that is not only intended for film enthusiasts but for all viewers who can see how beautiful the medium of film actually is and how it can influence us.
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"Welcome, dear film enthusiasts, to our Cinema Paradiso and please do come in! Welcome to a celluloid world full of humour, emotion and pleasant nostalgia for the old days, when the biograph was still a miracle of the times, a visit to the cinema a social event and the projectionists rescued film strips from the fire. And when little Tornatore was perhaps secretly going to the cinema to spend his mother's shopping money while devouring every frame, and then decades later made a beautiful, moving film full of emotion."
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I don't like reviews full of pathos and slick metaphorical phrases, but in this case I just can't help myself. For film enthusiasts who are in bliss at the mere sight of a filmstrip and a small glimpse of Morricone's talent, Cinema Paradiso is as delicious a morsel as Mozart's Little Night Music is for lovers of classical music. An amazing timeless story, the beginning of which had me rejoicing and putting my worries behind me, while the ending gave me a little watery eyes, which I am not ashamed of in retrospect :D The second half is unfortunately too much about feelings, but the first one is at least 7*.. :))) 95%
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Just like Alfredo, I say things to actors on posters; just like Salvatore, sometimes I have an almost religious feeling when entering the cinema. Every minute, a more touching testimony of an obvious film creature, where for the first time in my life, I forget how much I dislike Italian screaming naturalism. A tribute to films and cinema in irresistibly sentimental clothing.
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Crystal clear beauty inscribed in old celluloid. The Amarcord atmosphere of a small run-down Italian town, a cheerful storytelling style and the beautiful metaphor of human memory, inscribed in places and things... Although Tornatore is not a particularly demanding narrator (you really don't have to particularly look for a few allusions like Odysseus's dog and Ariadne's thread - just like the point, they of course come without other allegories), but he is able to empathize incredibly with his images. The camera by Blasco Giurato is also beautiful, and of course Ennio Morricone's music provides a much-needed leitmotif that is not forgotten due to its nostalgic fragility and delicate melancholy. The acting may be exaggerated in some parts, but this is certainly not the case for the key part of Alfred's "initiator" (the wonderful Noiret). To the sound of the calm tempo of the saxophone, Cinema Paradiso plays with the most fundamental questions of human existence. It does not bother with philosophical complexity, but it corresponds to the simple melancholy of a lost paradise. Not unlike the one that František Hrubín captured in Romance for Bugle. This place of pilgrimage smells of celluloid and the lost beauty of black and white hits. A film that completely wrapped me around its fingers. I can't wait to see the director's cut.
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