Cinema Paradiso and its Homage to Film Lovers

For as long as I can remember, film has always been a significant part of my life. I can recall the moments in my childhood when almost every weekend my father and I would go visit the local cinema, my humid afternoons spent sitting indoors in front of a silver screen. The aroma of heavily-buttered, fluffy popcorn and melted chocolate lingered in the air as we watched each new movie release with all-consuming anticipation. The red suede seats comforted me in a familiar embrace, like an old friend saying hello once again. My favorite part was always the movie previews; I would insistently beg my dad to get to the movie theater early in fear that I would miss them. I still reminisce on the awe I felt when the projected scenes danced across my eyes.

You may be thinking: How does this relate to an Italian film? 

As I currently draft this article in my dorm room, I turn and look at my peeling Keeney walls covered with the colorful embellishments of a plethora of diverse posters all defining who I am. The posters span from 1980s rock bands to cult-classic horror films to Van Gogh pieces. But, only a dark-tinted blue image catches my eye. In the middle of my bed, a Cinema Paradiso poster clings to my decorative wall, a film that has impacted me every time I’ve viewed it—changed me. The tagline reading: An enchanted village. A wonderful friendship. Star-crossed lovers. And the magic of the movies.

Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso is set in a small, Sicilian town devastated by the aftermath of World War II. The remnants of shattered dreams and lost souls is visible by war-torn rubble and a vigorous effort from the people to return to normalcy. Despite their misfortunes, the townspeople, without fail, flock to the new showings at Cinema Paradiso, the local movie house. Essentially the entire town—spanning generations and social classes —partakes in these viewings, reacting unanimously to the various scenes displayed. The theater reverberates with praise and booing under the united purpose of appreciating film. Film, in this sense, not only acts as a form of connection, but as a form of escapism. Imaginary escapism from the grave reality of their world. Surely, I have experienced this sensation following the repercussions of COVID-19, a pandemic that defined nearly everyone’s life reading the article. I can remember binge watching Golden Age musicals with my mother as we tried to grapple with the state of our world. A lighthearted motion picture truly lit up our days as we remained optimistic and dreamed of a brighter future. Although this foreign film is in Italian, the ability to connect to the message regardless of cultural differences truly highlights the significance of this particular visual art form. 

The film follows our protagonist Salvatore (affectionately nicknamed Toto), one of the young children forced to deal with losing his father to the war. 8-year-old Toto develops his passion for film by sneaking away from his house and spending every free moment he has at Cinema Paradiso. It is through this that he befriends the projectionist, Alfredo, who begrudgingly lets him watch the movies in his projection booth. Eventually, Alfredo develops a soft spot for the young boy, and they form a touching, father-son relationship with Alfredo teaching Salvatore how to operate the film projector himself whilst sagely reciting movie quotes as life advice.

I identify with Toto. Just like when he leaves his hometown to go study film in Rome and accomplish his dreams, I reflect on my own experiences as a college student 1,142 miles away from home for the first time in my life. Although change is difficult, it is necessary. In fact, I’ve already discovered through my courses that I have a passion for screenwriting. In a sense, film is a comforting tool to me. A tool that can express and tell the untold story of many individuals in this world through the synthesis of deliberate screenwriting, collaboration with the crew, and the creative liberty of the director. Regardless of its genre, all films continue to inspire us. 

Without a doubt, the final scene of Cinema Paradiso encapsulates the true meaning of what makes film so special. After Alfredo’s death, Toto is given a gift from him: an old reel of film. Upon watching, he recognizes it as a compilation of all the screen kisses Alfredo was forced to censor. Ennio Morricone’s orchestral music swells into a painfully nostalgic melody—both haunting and celebratory—as the now-adult Salvatore sits in his own tears. The various black-and-white segments shine, reminding Salvatore of the magic of movies to invoke such stirring emotion, the reason he became a filmmaker in the first place. And it is this exact gift that cinema offers to people: the gift of laughter, smiling, screaming…and even crying. The gift of feeling. This is the power of cinema, a power that shows the struggles and flaws of the one thing we have in common, being human. A thing that cannot be replaced or replicated by any other being.

Ultimately, Cinema Paradiso is a film that celebrates cinema as a transformative force by its way of connecting us with others and teaching us about the world. The cinema itself acts as its own character within this film, reflecting the joys and sorrows of Toto’s life. However, I believe cinema also plays a role in the film we call “life”, as we attempt to navigate our modern world together.