BACK IN TIME - THE '50S - "CINEMA PARADISO"

Now, this film warmed me to the cockles of my heart. It’s a story about growing up and discovering; discovering life, discovering oneself and generally growing up. The year it was released, in 1988, it cleared the table, Oscars®, Cannes, César Awards, the David Di Donatella awards and many besides… When you look at the subject matter, you might think that it is a classic case of the cinema honoring itself – it is the story of the discovery of the cinema too (and possibly one of the reasons I felt so close to it) but it is A LOT more than that. It is a tribute to another era, the era of classical cinema…
Salvatore Di Vito is one of the most successful directors in Italy. He lives in Rome and spares little thought for his hometown; a tiny village he hasn’t visited for 30 years… A telephone call he receives one day will jerk him back there however. A very old friend has died. Salvatore is swept up by memories and we follow him back to the 1940’s, an era where the cinema was the only form of entertainment for a small village. Films were in black and white, sound was a novelty and Salvatore – Toto back then - was a very naughty little boy forever getting into trouble and forever pestering Alfredo, the long suffering fellow working the projector in the local cinema. Toto wants to learn how to operate the machine, Toto wants the old scraps of film lying around and Toto is forever under Alfredo’s feet. In time, the two will become fast friends and Alfredo will guide Toto, as he grows up, through some of the most difficult decisions of his life…
We have all watched “coming of age” movies of course. But this one IS special. We see Toto portrayed by various actors at various stages in his life, but the little 7 year-old Toto is by far the SWEETEST little kid I have seen in a long time… The story is naïve and touching in one way, and in another very poignant, even today. It’s all about what to do with one’s life, difficult and life changing decisions and all the things that shape and mold us as we grew up.
Besides, again, it reminds us of a different era, no? Before home entertainment systems and DVDs, the cinema ruled. Like the opera of the 19th century people went there to see and be seen. Movie stars were huge. In small villages like this one, people centered their lives round the cinema; there is one scene where people almost break the door down clamoring for another showing – can you imagine that happening today at any cinema? You’d just put the DVD back on, right? A worthy tribute to the past of a great medium and a must-watch for any cinephile…