Cast: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Jacques Perrin, Salvatore Cascio
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Screenplay: Giuseppe Tornatore

Synopsis: A successful filmmaker, Salvatore ‘Totò’ Di Vita (Jacques Perrin), recalls his childhood (Salvatore Cascio) living in small, poor village in post-WW II Sicily, after finding out that his childhood friend and mentor, Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), passed away. We see Toto in this coming of age story fall in love with the movies at his village’s theater, fall in love with a girl in his formative years, and develop a deep friendship with the theater’s projectionist (Philippe Noiret)[2].

Review:

Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar winning film, Cinema Paradiso, is a nostalgic tribute to the rise and fall of Italian theatres in post-WW II Italy. By 1956, Italy could boast that the country had the largest network, at a total of 17,000, of cinemas in all of “old world” Europe at that time. During the 1960’s, economic turmoil, recession, failed legislative policies, and increasing competition in the world-wide marketplace from Hollywood and television, lead to a collapse of the once prosperous cinema industry in Italy. Cinemas closed by the hundreds, and as a result, small town community screenings all but disappeared [8].

By watching “Cinema Paradiso,” we can see begin to appreciate the influence this time period had on Tornatore’s childhood because of the important role cinema played in the lives of his characters in this small, poor village in Sicily. We witness the formation of relationships (sometimes consummation) by those that visited the theater, as well as exploration of their own lives as the veil of censorship by the heavy hand of the Catholic Church was lifted. We experience, through Tornatore’s eyes, the influence that cinema has on all of us through its imagery, great story telling, expression of love, intrigue, comedy, horror, and drama. Tornatore reminds us of the importance of the role cinema plays in our lives by how theatres bring such a disparate group of people that would never normally congregate together to have a shared experience, laughing, crying, and enjoying life. This can be contrasted with the irony of today’s social media which states the goal of bringing people together when in fact keeps us more isolated with empty relationship connections. Tornatore’s message is clear in “Cinema Paradiso” that more than ever, theatres are vital to a healthy society so that we can all discuss and explore a common, shared experience, and appreciate the effect cinema has on our culture. Tornatore wrote and directed this film to pay homage and tribute to his own formative years so that we can share those same experiences with him.

At the same time, Tornatore explores with undertones throughout the film of the Catholic Church’s influences during his childhood. The Catholic Church’s control and influence on Tornatore is evident throughout the film. During the first act, the Father would preview films and ring the bell whenever an “objectionable” segment was projected so that the loyal projectionist, Alfredo, would cut out that segment before public showings. Tornatore seemed to dismiss the Church’s traditions through the life of Toto. One such arbitrariness of the customs is evident when Toto slept through one of the ceremonies without ringing the bell, and the Father commented how he could not go on with the ceremony without the bell ringing. We see how Tornatore casts off the shackles of the Church and arbitrary traditions with the scene of Toto hanging his garment on the Virgin Mary. This particular scene was not in the screenplay, and so as a director, Tornatore wanted to demonstrate through Toto, that to some, that would have been a desecration of the Virgin Mary, but to Tornatore, that was just a boy hanging his garment which happened to land on a statue. The end of the first act casts off the influence of the church with a cleansing by fire of the cinema. The second act rebuilds with renewed hope, a rebuilt theatre, and unedited film. The village can grow and live life through cinema without the oppressive thumb of the Church keeping them restrained.

Tornatore also explores the theme of regret throughout “Cinema Paradiso.” Alfredo encompasses the father figure and mentor of Toto, trying his best to teach Toto to not make the same mistakes that he had made in his life. Alfredo has regrets of not finishing school, of not seeing the world, not having children, and fears that Toto’s love of cinema and the role of the projectionist would lead him down the same path. There are hints through conversations that Alfredo did not fully support Toto’s love interest with a local girl, probably with fears that Toto would settle down in this little village and never leave. Alfredo takes this lifelong regret about his own life to heart by telling Toto to never come back at the end of act two.

In life, especially as children, we are told by those in authority, by other adults, that we should not do certain things and to do other things. Adults believe that they are imparting their lifelong wisdom on an impressionable mind, so that a child doesn’t have to fail the same way and experience the same pain, the same regret. These adults believe that they have the child’s best interest at heart. The reality is that most of the time, the adults are speaking from their past regrets, and don’t realize that the lessons in life don’t come from being told something, but from experiencing the lesson first hand. We learn more from doing and failing, then by not trying something at all. Alfredo realizes this too late, and by the time he could tell Toto otherwise, Toto has already left. Alfredo’s last lesson was to teach Toto to not remember his home town, his roots, out of fear that remembering would lead Toto to have his own regrets. The sad irony is that Alfredo’s last lesson that stuck in Toto’s mind is also Alfredo’s greatest regret because Alfredo realizes too late that remembering your family, your home town, and your roots would keep you grounded, and is not mutually exclusive to success in life.

The poignant part of the film was near the end when Toto was watching the reel spliced together from all those censored films during his childhood. This reel was a dying man’s atonement for a lifetime of regrets, trying to give the best advice he could to the closest thing he ever had to a son, realizing that he shouldn’t have told Toto to never come back. This was Alfredo’s last message to Toto, to never forget your family, your influences, because they are part of who you are, and to deny them would lead to an unsatisfying life of regret always searching for fulfillment, and never finding it when it was there the entire time.

In summary, “Cinema Paradiso” definitely struck a chord with me in regards to regrets in life. Coming from a poor background myself, raised by a single mother, I went through life with adults giving me their advice on life. I realized early on to take the advice with a grain of salt, and thankfully would come to my own conclusions. Even to this day, I question everything, and never take a thought without a second guess. I am always challenging myself on the “status quo” with a simple philosophy that I adopted for myself: Close your eyes, and imagine you are 85 years old on your death bed, staring up at the ceiling, gasping with bated breath, knowing that the end is near. Reflect back on your life starting from today because there is nothing you can do with what has passed already. What do you honestly wish you accomplished in life? What regrets would you have the most if you didn’t do them? In opening your eyes, realize that you have just glimpsed the future, and now have all that time back to make up.

I supported myself through college graduating in Computer Science, then went on to complete my Master’s in Computer Science while working full time as a software developer. I then went to law school, graduated with honors, and passed the bar as a licensed attorney while working full time. Now, at this stage in my life, I am beginning a new chapter. I live life without regrets knowing that the decisions I made were the best given the circumstances. That is the lesson Alfredo tried earnestly to bring across to Toto. My only addendum to his lesson is to not forget your roots because remembering your past keeps you grounded, otherwise forgetting your past will become your biggest regret.

 

References:

  1. Tornatore, Giuseppe. Cinema Paradiso. Shooting Script. 1988. The Daily Script. Thurs. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/cinema_paradiso.html>.
  2. “Cinema Paradiso.” IMDb: The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com-Amazon.com, 1990-2014. Thurs. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095765/?ref_=nv_sr_1>.
  3. “Cinema Paradiso.” Rotten Tomatoes.com, 2014. Thurs. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cinema_paradiso/>.
  4. Heilman, Jeremy. Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore) 1988. Movie Reviews. 01 May 2002. Thurs. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.moviemartyr.com/1988/cinemaparadiso.htm>.
  5. Schwartz, Dennis. If too much charm can kill, this emotionally manipulative nostalgic love letter to cinema directed and written by the 32-year-old Giuseppe Tornatore is a killer. Movie Reviews. 25 Oct. 2005. Thurs. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/cinemaparadiso.htm>.
  6. Anthony, Ross. The New Version: Cinema Paradiso. Movie Reviews. 2002. Thurs. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://rossanthony.com/C/cinemaparadiso.shtml>.
  7. “Cinema Paradiso.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2014. Thurs. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_Paradiso>
  8. Brunetta, Gian Piero. The History of Italian Cinema: A Guide to Italian Film from Its Origins to the Twenty-first Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. Google books. 15 Feb. 2014. <http://books.google.com/books?id=8-Q9Qec7c7oC&printsec=frontcover>.