Cinema Paradiso

We salute you, Giuseppe Tornatore.
If there is a movie in recent times, that tugged at our heart and then made us all warm and happy in the end, this is the one.

The DVD cover said that anyone who loves cinema can only enjoy this movie. We agree fully. The kid who plays the protagonist is cute and brilliant quite unlike the irritating “too wise for their age” kids we find in most movies. And Alfredo is the man.

Our favourite moment is when the young Toto replaces the injured Alfredo on the job. Particularly heart-warming stuff. The chemistry between Toto and Alfredo is amazing.

And then there are the seemingly endless interludes between Toto & Alfredo. Our favourite is the one below.

Salvatore: Who said that? Gary Cooper? James Stewart? Henry Fonda? Eh?
Alfredo: No, Toto. Nobody said it. This time it's all me. Life isn't like in the movies. Life... is much harder.
Cinema Paradiso tells the story of a man whose life is linked to a theatre named Cinema Paradiso in his town.

The movie starts off with a brilliant shot from a window in the house of Toto’s mom and her attempts to call him. It ends with the then-aged Toto watching his gift from Alfredo. In between is the Cinema Paradiso. One can rave and rave, but would rather recommend and request that the reader will go and watch this flick and come back and thank us for recommending it.

Simply Awesome. Must Watch.

PostScript: We apologize for the inadvertent omission of Ennio Moricone from our reasons to watch the movie. But like his free flowing, non-intrusive but brilliant score, we thought our readers would notice that too. Profound Apologies