Joshua Haimann
Cinema Paradiso
The
plot of the Italian film, “Cinema Paradiso”, by Giuseppe Torantore is a tale
that starts by showing a famous filmmaker, Salvatore Di Vita,
as he returns to his hometown with the intent to pay his respects to an old
friend. As the film gets into the main story we see that it is about the former
life of this man, his life as a child in the very town he has returned to. As the film transitions from the
current life of Salvatore it flashes back of his life thirty years in the past
as a young boy around the age of six.
He begins to reminisce of the days he would spend in the cinema with the
old man who runs the projector, Alfredo. The film takes its time to show how
Salvatore, nicknamed Toto, does any and everything to learn from Alfredo and
acts as his apprentice. Alfredo allows Salvatore to watch films with him in the
projection booth and eventually teaches him how to operate the projector for
him, since he spends enough time there anyway. One of the issues Alfredo has to
deal with is the editing of the films, as directed or ordered by the towns
priest. The priest doesn’t allow kissing scenes or overly intimate scenes to be
shown in the theater and previews the films for scenes for Alfredo to edit.
Instead of just throwing the clips out, Alfredo keeps them in a canister in the
projection room. Alfredo knows that these clips are Salvatores’ favorite things
to look at so he saves them and even makes a special box for Salvatore to have.
However, in a terrible twist of fate, one of Alfredo’s greatest fears comes to
reality as the projector overheats and catches the highly flammable nitrate
film on fire. Caught in the blaze Alfredo is sure to die if not for the heroic
efforts of his little apprentice Salvatore, who pulls him from the cinema.
Unfortunately the damage is done, leaving Alfredo blind and unable to further
run the cinema, which has burned to the ground. However, once rebuilt, the
older, teen version of Salvatore uses the knowledge Alfredo provided him with
to run the new cinema just as he would. Continuing his love of film Salvatore
works passionately on them and has used them to find a girl he secretly has a
crush on. Through natural cinematic development his boyish crush turns into a
love filled relationship and eventually marriage. The final scene of the film
is of Salvatore watching a montage of kissing scenes that Alfredo put together
for many years before that he saved specifically for him.
I
really enjoyed this film for the story line. The story of Alfredo reminds me of
my grandfather in many ways. Alfredo had no children; my grandfather didn’t
have any boys, and I didn't have a dad. Being there to share in his interest and learn the, “tricks of
the trade”, as an assistant/apprentice, helped us grow closer and made me
appreciate the man for things greater than his education or worldly wealth. It
gave me a real world idol, someone who I could look to as a model of the kind
of man I’d like to be one day. I always feel like I want to do something specail for him because of what he means to me. Being the father figure of my youth I was able to learn the ways he bacame a man and use his experiences to help make me into the man I am and will eventually become. I feel lucky to have had him as long as I have and will truly miss him when he's gone.
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