Cinema Revisited: Cinema Paradiso (1988)

A classic Italian film in which a man, Salvatore, who has not been back to his home town, even to see his mother, for 30 years, is sent word that Alfredo has died. This makes him remember his childhood, when Alfredo was the movie projectionist at a local theater and Salvatore, then known as Toto, was obsessed with the movies. Alfredo’s passing causes Salvatore to return hom for the funeral, only to discover that Alfredo has left him a very special gift.

For those of us who have truly loved cinema from childhood, Cinema Paradiso can be a very emotional experience. The shot of Toto entering the projection room, which is adorned with posters of Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, and Humphrey Bogart, and crossing himself as if he is entering a house of worship, is a striking image. His sacrificing his schooling and household chores for the movies, and frequently being beaten, makes his refusal to return home after decades, until Alfredo’s death, understandable.

The film gives us a reflection of moviegoing in Italy during more repressive times. A priest comes to the theater for a private screening for each new film, and rings a bell for every scene the projectionist must remove before making the movie available to the public. They are all kissing sequences, and Toto always begs to be given the discarded footage, which sits in a barrel like so much garbage. The projectionist usually refuses, but Toto sneaks some film away and it ignites in the house. He is beaten again. Alfredo takes the blame.

Some of the moviegoing scenes are truly fascinating and uplifting. The audience of mostly children laughing uproariously at The Knockout with Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin, the wide-eyed marvel of a Stagecoach coming attractions trailer igniting the screen, and the sudden jump cuts as a kiss is about to happen in a film, are all very powerfully presented. One audience member yells, “in 19 years I have never seen a kiss in a movie!”

The relationship between Alfredo and Toto is not unlike Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in The Kid. Alfredo patiently sits with the boy and tells him of a time when movies were silent and an orchestra played live, how the modern presentations of old silents have the music already added, and how as projectionist he used to have to turn a crank by hand, which became very tiring. “Nobody can run a projectionist around here except me,” he says, “it takes an imbecile like me to do this. I suffocate in the summer, I freeze in the winter, and I breathe all these fumes. But when I hear the audience laugh, I feel like it is I who made them laugh.” Toto takes in every word, and truly understands. He eventually learns to load and run the projector, using a stepstool to reach the gears.

The film continues as Toto grows up, finds love, leaves his village and says goodbye to Alfredo, who instructs him to never return to his past. He eventually makes a great success of himself, sending money back to his mother who now lives in a nice home.

When the grownup Toto, now Salvatore, returns home to attend Alfredo’s funeral, he discovers Alfredo has left him a reel of film. Upon screening it, he finds that it is all of the kissing scenes from all of those movies, over all of those years.

Director Giuseppe Tornatore is said to have drawn from his own childhood experiences, even shooting in his Sicilian home town. His film is a true celebration of the traditional moviegoing experience, before home video, and later streaming changed the dynamic. The final destruction of the theater where Toto enjoyed the most important moments of his childhood is one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen in a film.

Cinema Paradiso is an emotional experience for one who loves movies, but a genuinely great film for anybody. It is most highly recommended.