Cinema Paradiso

Rating:
Summary: In Many Ways Memories Of A Vanished World
Review: Some rightly see CINEMA PARADISO as giving us a view of Italian village life that is vanishing. That though is not the only vanished thing we are seeing. The way movies were really a part of people's lives is also gone. Before video and the multiplex a theatre showed one movie or sometimes two a week and people went to the movies every week. As CINEMA PARADISO shows the local theatre was as much a community place as the church or town hall. It was not a place to go but a part of your life. That Giuseppe Tornatore beautifully captures. His village could be a small town in Oklahoma, a neighborhood in Brooklyn or village in England. At the period all would have the local movie house as one of the centers of the community. You knew everyone because you basically saw them every week.
With the movies as its heart CINEMA PARADISO is the tale of a young boy , Toto, and the projectionist of the local theatre, Alfredo. As Toto weasels his way into the projection booth the two become fast friends as Alfredo replaces the father Toto lost in the war. Toto grows up and we see that in two ways. He obviously gets bigger but also by the changes in the style of the movies he is projecting. The film has a wealth of great scenes both funny and moving to the point of tears. The local priest with his bell acting as censor, Alfredo belatedly taking his diploma exam in a class of kids who barely would reach his waist, Toto waiting for his first love on New Year's eve and most fabulous of all Alfredo's final gift to Toto. If that scene doesn't bring a tear you're dead. Ennio Morricone's music is just icing on the cake.
In the world of director's cut Tornatore has gone back and added some 50 minutes to the film.Better? Debateable but Tornatore was smart enough to have the original theatrical version of the film included also. No debate on that. If you have never seen this movie you really are missing something special. Approaching it for the first time I would recommend watching the shorter theatrical release first.