Italian movies! I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve seen an Italian movie, maybe even since I saw Bicycle Thieves three years ago in Intro to Cinema. For all the French movies I’ve seen, my Italian movie knowledge is pitiful.
But oh my god movies about movies! My favorite kind of movies. On my Spring 2015 Film Bucketlist, the film in this spot was actually originally the 1997 film Life is Beautiful, but the list was modified to be my first Netflix-only Moviecation List because of accessibility problems.
So the film is about a filmmaker named Salvatore Di Vita, who is living in Rome when he hears that his childhood mentor and friend, a projectionist named Alfredo, has died. Suddenly we are following the childhood and adolescence of Salvatore, nicknamed Totò, in the small town of Giancaldo, Sicily.
Right from the get-go, Totò is a boisterous film fanatic, which we see juxtaposed with his boring duties as a church altar boy. When the priest sits down in the town’s theater to censor all of the kissing, which he calls “pornography,” from the week’s movies, Totò sneaks into the projection room and heckles Alfredo into giving him the kissing frames.
Alfredo seems to be Totò’s only friend, and vice-versa, which thankfully never gets into creepy territory as the two of them just truly love films. Eventually, Totò becomes the official projectionist of the Cinema Paradiso, and we flash forward to the 1950s, when Totò is in high school.
And now Totò has a love interest in the beautiful Elena. But then later, Totò eventually leaves his tiny village behind for the big world of Rome, and has not returned since.
The film deals with growing up, romance, and fate. It’s a coming of age film AND a film about films!? It literally couldn’t be more aligned with my interests.
The actor who plays young Totò is fantastic, and seeing him interact with the adults in his life is such a treat.
The ending is also incredibly touching and sweet.
Cinema Paradiso is an endearing story about growing up and leaving your home behind. Sometimes I felt like it was missing a little something, which makes sense because the director’s cut is 173 minutes, IMDb lists it at 155 minutes, and the Netflix version is 124 minutes… so I’m not sure what’s happening there?
But I still very much enjoyed the film. It ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, as well as FIVE BAFTAS, including Best Supporting Actor for the young Totò!
Cinema Paradiso is #56 in the IMDb Top 250, and is not on the AFI 100 Films list because it is not an American film!
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