Classic International Movies: “Cinema Paradiso”
October is classic international movies month. Today’s guest post comes from Traci Nell Peterson.
Movie Title: Cinema Paradiso
Year: 1988
Writers: Giuseppe Tornatore and Vanna Paoli (collaborating writer), Richard Epcar (English version)
Lead Actors: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
IMDb Plot Summary: A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village’s theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater’s projectionist.
Why I Think This Is A Classic International Movie
Alfredo and Salvatore “Toto” are the main characters and the heart of the film. Their relationship over the course of their lives seems to transcend words like “friends” or even “family.” I was going to comment that Family/Friends was the theme of the film, but that’s too limiting. There are so many other themes (Coming of Age, Lost Love, Passion vs. Vulgarity, Reality vs. Fantasy, Loss & Redemption) that you’d assume the plot, characters and story would be a mess!
But, you’d be wrong.
Screenwriter/Director Giuseppe Tornatore skillfully uses the village of Giancaldo as the film’s backdrop and the story’s backbone. Via Giancaldo, the numerous themes, characters, dialogue and plot points are able to weave in and out of the village life and across time(!); each a differing color strand that creates the proverbial tapestry, aka a Classic International Movie.
My Favorite Moment In The Movie
My favorite moment in the movie is the final scene and I will NOT describe it. I’m not trying to dodge the question, I just really want you to experience it for yourself. I will say after the title card, ‘FINE’ (‘The End’ in Italian) came on screen, I recall thinking, “I have just experienced a perfect ending.” For me, Cinema Paradiso embodies the screenwriting mantra, “Everything leads to the end.”
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie
Alfredo: Living here day by day, you think it’s the center of the world. You believe nothing will ever change. Then you leave: a year, two years. When you come back, everything’s changed. The thread’s broken. What you came to find isn’t there. What was yours is gone. You have to go away for a long time… many years… before you can come back and find your people. The land where you were born. But now, no. It’s not possible. Right now you’re blinder than I am.
Salvatore: Who said that? Gary Cooper? James Stewart? Henry Fonda? Eh?
Alfredo: No, Toto. Nobody said it. This time it’s all me. Life isn’t like in the movies. Life… is much harder.
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie
Each time I watch Cinema Paradiso, I find something new. This last time, I was struck by the eventual erosion/decline of the cinema “culture” in Giancaldo. Early in the film, the entire village — kids, families, couples — would go to the cinema to watch movies after the Priest would view and edit any “inappropriate” scenes in the movie. This went on for years, but when the Cinema Paradiso’s ownership changed, the Priest’s service was no longer requested. Watch the effect this has on the Cinema Paradiso and the village: Giancaldo “wasn’t built in a day, but when it fell, it burned in one.”
Trivia
Winner of Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 1990.
Winner of Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, 1990.
1991 Winner of BAFTA for: Best Screenplay: Giuseppe Tornatore, Best Actor:Philippe Noiret, Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Salvatore Cascio, Best Film not in the English Language, Best Original Film Score: Ennio & Andrea Morricone.
Included among the “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”, edited by Steven Schneider.
Giuseppe Tornatore is the person working the projection machine when Salvatore is watching the compilation of scenes that Alfredo made for him.
Actor Philippe Noiret (Alfredo) recited all of his lines in his natural language, French. He was later dubbed in Italian by Vittorio Di Prima. In the French version, Noiret dubbed himself.
Thanks, Traci!
To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
We already have a set of classic 30s movies, 40s movies, 5os movies, 60s Movies, 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on classic international movies. And thanks to the GITS community, we’ve got at least 22 movies in the works and hopefully more!
Those who I put in bold have already sent me their posts. If you haven’t sent yours to me, please do so as soon as you can!!!
A Prophet — PaulG
Akira — RealThndrMonkey
Amelie — Kevin Curran
Belle Epoque — Melinda Mahaffey
Cinema Paradiso — Traci Nell Peterson
Diabolique — Sherin Nicole
Jules et Jim — Susan Winchell
Kolya — Melinda Mahaffey
Millennium Actress — Chris Neumann
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies — John Henderson
Reprise — Wally Marzano-Lesnevich
Seven Samurai — Will King
The Lives of Others — PaulG
The Tenant — Marija Nielsen
This Man Must Die — Marija Nielsen
Looking for more volunteers, your chance to memorialize your favorite international movie and yourself as a contributor to our ongoing blog series on classic movies.
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