“Life isn't like in the
movies. Life... is much harder.”
Cinema Paradiso is one of
those rare films that I relate to on such a personal level. There are few films
that have such a power over me. I have never been so emotionally affected like
I am with this film. That final scene truly tears my soul apart and my eyes
become instant waterfalls. When people ask me what the film is about I simply
say, “it’s about a man who must choose between two things. The girl he loves or
his love of film”, but it’s so much more than that. Cinema Paradiso is about
friendship, how the cinema can affect us, and our first true relationships that
are filled with passion.
The story centers on Salvatore
who is a young boy that matures slowly as he discovers lessons about life,
develops a hunger for cinema, falls in love with a girl during his teen years,
and later in life is rewarded with being a famous filmmaker; yet, he stays
unsatisfied without true love only to receive a gift of love that surpasses
death, space, and time to be discovered in the final scene. Don’t get me
started on the music, my god this film has the best score. It puts most films
to shame. Cinema Paradiso can cause you to laugh or cry. It portrays those
innocently pure emotions and feelings such as: love, fear, sorrow, remorse, the
longing of wanting to go back to our youth, experiencing memories of places
that are there no more, and the painful recollections of loved ones who are no
longer with us. Most films are simply there just to entertain or scare the
audience. Then there is this film. A film that is there to affect your feelings
and to make you remember things you may have forgotten by the time the end
credits roll. There are two different versions of the film: the original
theatrical version and the extended edition. Watch the original first then the
extended and make sure you bring a box of tissues for you will cry.
5 out of 5
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