Review of
Cinema Paradiso
Reviewed by Young Il Kim
Director: An Italian Guy
Starring: Bunch of Italians
If you love movies and you love people who love movies and love people who love people who love movies and were disappointed that they never made great movies about people who love people who love movies, this movie is for you. If you hate movies and you hate people who hate movies and hate people who hate people who hate movies, this movie is also for you. If you ever had that burning sensation in the morning, this movie is not for you. If you can read English and can deal with the subtitles, this movie is for you. If you cannot read or write, this movie is not for you because you don’t know what I am saying! Also, your momma is fat.
The movie is about a famous movie director who receives a letter stating that Alfredo from his childhood village has passed away. This gives the director (of this movie and not the actor) an excuse to go into a series of flashbacks. During the period shortly after World War II, Italians (having been on the losing side of yet another war) resort to the town square to see movies. Toto (nickname of Salvatore) is a little church boy who gets in trouble because he is always spending grocery money to see movies. One day Toto helps Alfredo, the town’s film projectionist, pass a reading test and a bond is formed between a young boy and a middle-aged man that is just a bit unnatural. Or as Michael Jackson would call it, a How-To video. One day, the theater burns down and Alfredo goes blind. Shortly after the theater burns down, Toto ages 12 years. Obviously a burning theater has an odd effect on people. Nineteen year-old Salvatore is a horny, aspiring filmmaker. Despite this, he doesn’t venture into porn. Instead, he falls in love with Elena. During the flashback, the older Salvatore is sleeping in a bed with a hot woman who is not Elena. You can make couple of conclusions. First, he is a polygamist (right on!). Second, he is just a cheating Italian bastard (right on!) who has left Elena. Third, he is a womanizer (right on!). Or he might be longing for Elena (whoops!). Something must have gone wrong and now he is searching for something that he cannot have. That’s why you have to watch the movie.
Despite what I have written, this is a superb movie. There are a few extraneous moments but the storyline is crisp. We all recall the days when we were young and about the love that could have been. This story, along with the amazing score by Ennio Morricone, tells that story gently and sweetly. Also, after you see this movie, you will be humming the theme from the movie and won’t know why. In fact, for about two weeks, you won’t be able to get the melody out of your head.
