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| Irresistible Polish (?) poster for Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso |
QUICK REVIEW:
Film director Salvatore receives a call from his old mother: His childhood father figure Alfredo has died. For the first time in 30 years, the man returns to his small childhood town in Sicily, where his first love and his love of films were founded.
Cinema Paradiso is a splendid, film-crazed film. "The people in this film are so full of emotions", I have heard one co-audience member say about the film, which is absolutely true: Especially in the flashback sequences, the cast are incredibly vivacious, full of thrill and excitement in the context of a pictorially magnificent film; cinematographer: Great job by Blasco Giurato (Passage to Paradise/Passaggio per il Paradiso (1998)).
It can all be interpreted as a parable about the joys and pains of growing up as well as a declaration of love and a celebration of cinema and of life itself.
Paradiso holds great acting performances from Jacques Perrin (The Chorus/Les Choristes (2004)), Leopoldo Trieste (The Name of the Rose (1986)), Agnese Nano (Barocco (1991)), Philippe Noiret (Les Grands Ducs (1996)), Marco Leonardi (Maradona, the Hand of God/Maradona, la Mano di Dio (2007)) and as Salvatore as a boy, 'Totò', Salvatore Cascio (Everybody Is Fine/Stanno Tutti Bene (1990)). Also Ennio Morricone's (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly/Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo (1966)) strong score deserves recognition.
Paradiso was shot mostly in its co-writer-director Giuseppe Tornatore's (Malèna (2000)) Sicilian childhood village Bagheria. He co-wrote the script with Vanna Paoli (Roma Roma Roma! (1990)).
The film is gripping, touching and funny. - A masterpiece and a must-watch for any movie-lover!
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| Salvatore Cascio as Totò in Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso |
Watch the great original US trailer for the film here
Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: 12.3 mil. $ (US only)
= Uncertainty
[But reportedly a big hit: The film had a bad release initially in Italy, which prompted Tornatore to cut nearly 30 minutes from the film (for the 124 minute international cut, - a 174 minute director's cut has since been issued on DVD, which elaborates Salvatore's lost love; Tornatore has stated that he loves both versions), and the new cut became a big hit internationally, winning the Best Foreign Film Oscar and other awards. I found two numbers that support its success story: 2 mil. people paid admission to see it in France and 1.3 mil. in Argentina. Some even credit the film with reviving the slumming Italian film industry overall.]
What do you think of Cinema Paradiso?
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