Cinema Paradiso

Cinema Paradiso is the story of a filmmaker’s, Salvatore, childhood. Salvatore was an usher boy and liked look at the filmstrips that are cut from film reels because they are deemed inappropriate. He gets into a lot of trouble and the projectionist, Alfredo, kicks him out. He gets in trouble with his mom for using the grocery money for going to the movies but Alfredo gives her the money to make it look like Salvatore dropped it. Another day, the slides that Salvatore kept in his room, caught on fire and got in trouble with his mother and got Alfredo in trouble too. Salvatore tells Alfredo that he told his mother that he stole the slides. Later on, Alfredo comes into Salvatore’s school to take a test and asks for Salvatore’s help with it. Salvatore agrees to help him in exchange for getting to work in the projection room with him. Salvatore learns the ins and outs of working in the projection room. During one of the movie showings, the film reel caught on fire and Alfredo gets stuck in the building. Salvatore tries to get him out. Alfredo lives, but becomes blind. The movie jumps to Salvatore as a teenager. He falls for a girl who is not sure if she likes him in the same way. He tells her that he will wait for her until she changes her mind. She finally changes does and they have a love scene. Her parents do not approve of their relationship, so they take her away.  They try to sneak away and spend time with each other but eventually are forced to give up. Eventually, Salvatore has to leave for the army. When he comes back, the place is different and he cannot get used to it so he leaves to fulfill his dream of making movies. Alfredo warns him never to return. Salvatore finally returns after so many years of being away to attend Alfredo’s funeral. He comes to find out that Alfredo left him a roll of all of the kissing scenes that Alfredo used to cut out.

            The themes of this movie are relationships and attraction. The whole town is attracted to the theater because it is their only connection to outside world. Salvatore does not know much of his father since his father died in the war and Alfredo has no children, so when they are together, they treat each other like father and son. Salvatore, from the beginning has an attraction to film so he tries to spend time in the projection room. He is excited to learn how to operate the projector. When he is older, he becomes attracted to a new girl. Alfredo warns her to stay away from him because he knew that if they ended up together, Salvatore would have never gone into directing.

            Cinema Paradiso is my favorite movie that I have seen in this class so far. I loved the storyline and the characters. The back and forth between Alfredo and Salvatore is comical and entertaining. It was very heartfelt at the end.