(For those of you with double hard-ons for Italy and cinema, prepare to blow your loads…)
CAST: Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, Jacques Perrin, Philippe Noiret, Agnese Nanno, Leopoldo Trieste, Antonella Atili.
DIRECTOR: Guiseppe Tornatore
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some compelling reasons to become a movie buff and Italo-phile - straight ahead…
Movie buffs are some of the most resourceful and determined people in the world. Some of us pretend to be journalists to get in to special screenings (ahem). Some of us wait in line for hours to get into advanced midnight showings (double ahem). Some of us will even participate in a “Steve Carrell/Paul Rudd” lookalike contest just to get into a DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS preview (I have some pride left, thank you - I just witnessed it). My point is being a movie fan is no different from being a fan of anything else - you like something strong enough, you’ll find a way to experience it.
The hero of our next Cinema Italiano Flick is a major movie buff. He is Salvatore “Toto” De Vita, and we first meet him as a spunky, irascible child in post-WWII Sicily, where he engages in the following: (1) falling asleep on altar boy duty because (2) he spends every waking moment sneaking into the local movie theatre - Il Cinema Paradiso, grazie - and watching free movies, which (3) pisses his mom right the hell off. Oh, and it irritates the projectionist, too. He’s a crusty dude named Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), and if it were up to him, he’d break Toto in half, put him in a box, and mail him to Naples.
But it isn’t up to him, and so Alfredo must put up with the little tyke’s feisty invasions of the projection booth and incessant questions about movies. Fortunately, their shared deep love for movies is enough for Alfredo to tolerate the little fucker. Their “Bromance” becomes even stronger when Alfredo leaps to Toto’s defense when his mom decides to put yet another beat-down on him because he’s not good for anything but sneaking off and watching movies.
Before you know it, Alfredo is teaching little Toto to run the projector. Which is pretty much like giving a crack whore free reign in the crack house. And before you know it, Salvatore is pretty much running the projection booth - especially after Alfredo is injured and blinded in a fire. As the years go by and the little brat grows into a fairly-smokin’ teenager (Marco Leonardi), Salvatore’s friendship with Alfredo becomes even more solid. Especially when Toto falls for a hot chick named Elena (Agnese Nano), because Alfredo pretty much turns into Will Smith from HITCH and basically coaches our boy TT on how to bag his babe.
Will Alfredo succeed in helping Toto win Elena’s heart? Do Toto and Elena have a future together? Or does Alfredo want Toto to pursue his love of film and parlay it into a career? Even at the expense of hooking up with Lust Of His Life? Will Toto choose his love for movies - or his love for Elena? How will Toto’s decisions affect his future? Will he be the Italian version of Ridley Scott? Or the Italian version of Alan Smithee?
Watch CINEMA PARADISO and find out. Just don’t blame me if you end up maxing out your NetFlix queue as a result.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In our review for IL POSTINO (review # 249) as part of Valentine’s Celebration last February, we examined the friendship that blossomed between a worldly, sophisticated Chilean poet in exile on an Italian island, and the sweet-natured, simple, but also intelligent Italian postman who brings him his mail. The friendship was further strengthened by the poet’s commitment to help his gentle friend win the heart of a local barmaid. IL POSTINO was an excellent film that celebrated love in both friendship, romance, and for art. It also underscored the lovely Italian scenery which almost became another character in the film.
Our latest review, CINEMA PARADISO, is cut from the same cloth as IL POSTINO. It even shares an actor: Philip Noiret, who would go on to play Pablo Neruda in IL POSTINO a few years later. Both films examine the friendship between two men that evolves over time. They also involve a partnership between the two to win the heart of an unsuspecting woman. Furthermore, these two movies also deal with the love for art. In IL POSTINO, it was poetry. In CINEMA PARADISO, it’s movies.
Part of the reason CINEMA PARADISO works so well is it taps into the child-like sense of awe and wonder that movies naturally put into us. Watching Toto’s antics as a young boy pursuing his passion for films is something most of us can relate to. You don’t have to be a movie buff to go to the movies - and who doesn’t. As with IL POSTINO, CINEMA PARADISO is a love story on different levels - and the timeless romance with the movies is just one of them.
The cast is exceptional, especially Philip Noiret who delivers an equally strong performance here as Alfredo, as he did as Pablo Neruda in IL POSTINO. Alfredo and Neruda are two very different characters on the surface. Neruda is urbane, cultured, and polished, while Alfredo is crusty, cantankerous, and rough-edged. However, what these two characters have very much in common is the ardor that they have for their craft. Neruda loves poetry. Alfredo loves the movies. And Noiret succeeds at conveying their commitment to what they love. This dedication is summarized near the end of the film, where Alfredo is seeing the teenaged Toto off at the train station, about to go off to his future in the big city of Rome. Alfredo’s final words to the young man are timeless with their wisdom and truth: “Whatever you end up doing - love it.”
As the three iterations of Toto at various stages in his life, Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, and Jacques Perrin are all excellent. Cascio adorably captures the young Toto’s exuberance and energy, while Leonardi nails the teenage Toto’s interesting blend of spunk and soulful, and Perrin perfectly embodies the middle-aged Toto’s wistful melancholy and regret. Each of these actors makes the role his own, and memorably so.
In the end, CINEMA PARADISO reminds us of the power of friendship, romance, and movies - and how each is as timeless and exhilarating as the sensation you get when the lights go down in the theater.
