This film centers on a young boy named Toto living in a beautiful Italian village. He is adorable and smart and besides his father going missing and his mother needing anger management classes he has it pretty good. More then anything he loves movies. The Cinema Paradiso is the most popular spot in town. Toto is friends with the projectionist a man named Alfredo. Toto wants to be the projectionist but Alfredo urges him to pursue greater things. The childhood section of the movie is wonderful and magical. the child actor who plays demonstrates a ridiculous stage presence for someone his age.
However the movie takes a bit of a dive when Toto grows into a teen and loses some of his charm. There is a subplot involving Toto's love interest Elena that disappears and is never resolved. However once Toto grows into a world weary man the film get s back on track. The scene when adult Toto sees that the Pardiso has become run down is heartbreaking as is the final scene when tot sees what his gift from Alfredo was. In addition the music and scenery are lovely. ultimately the film was tad too sentimental for my taste but I can easily see why it is such a classic.
1 comment:
Intelligent insights, Maxine. I like that you can appreciate it without necessarily being a fan yourself. And it's also clear that you're a true film buff (who's a little obsessed with the Oscars =)
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