Cinema Paradiso

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026 @ 7pm

Italian-French, 1988, PG, Color, Coming-of-Age Saga/Drama, 2h 35m

Written and Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore 

Stars Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, Pupella Maggio, Salvatore Cascio.

Can you remember what a trip to the movies was like when you were a young child? One of my first childhood movie memories was going to a small neighborhood theater to see “Misty of Chincoteague,” a much-loved (little remembered) movie in our pony-crazy household. I also remember going to a big downtown movie palace to see “Mary Poppins,” and how thrilled I was at the grandiosity of the theater. I can also recall going to see “How the West Was Won” in Cinerama. That theater was even far more grandiose with its Michelangelo-influenced ceilings. Nothing was considered to be "over the top" in that cathedral to film. The candy counter alone was a religious experience.  Attending the movies meant seeing a short subject, a cartoon, coming attractions to Technicolor extravaganzas and monster movies.  There’s nothing like the movies when you’re small and seeing things with new eyes.  It's magic - sheer magic.

Cinema Paradiso captures the sense of awe and wonder that a child finds in the movies. The movies introduce Salvatore (Salvatore Cascio), our protagonist, to a lifelong love of films. Because Salvatore’s father was killed in the war, he spends every extra moment in the cinema located in the center of his small Sicilian town. He slowly and painfully builds a relationship with the projectionist, Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), who allows Salvatore to watch films from the projection booth. The movies inform Salvatore’s outlook on life, love, death, and any of the other great themes he saw depicted on the screen.

As time goes on, Salvator (Marco Leonardi) eventually serves as the projectionist, eventually leaving the town upon Alfredo’s insistence to seek his dream of becoming a movie director.  Once grown, Salvator (Jacques Perrin) pursues his life dreams and eventually becomes a famous director. He follows Alfredo’s advice and never looks back, never returns to his hometown, and refuses to indulge in nostalgia.   A final gift from Alfredo allows Salvatore to merge his eschewed past with his illustrious present, and the film comes full circle.

Critics the world around considered Cinema Paradiso to be a classic coming of age story and it is now viewed as one of the best pictures in cinematic history. It received the Grand Prix du Jury at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1989. It also received the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language in 1991. Phillipe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio received Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards, respectively. Guiseppe Tornatore was awarded the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay, and Ennio and Andrea Morricone received a BAFTA for their lush, romantic score.

Cinema Paradiso represents the end of Italian Neorealism. The studio systems had failed, and the old masters were passing on or retiring. Their post-war masterpieces were being replaced by smaller, more commercially successful films much as the rise of independent cinema occurred in the US and Britain. Italian cinema was crafting a new brand with intimate portraits of ordinary Italians in a changing world. It has been observed that Cinema Paradiso single handedly reintroduced nostalgia to Italian cinema, facilitating the emergence of other great Italian films such as Mediterraneo, Is Postino, and Life Is Beautiful in its wake. This film fairly wallows in nostalgia with its period look, the rapturous score, and the glorious cinematography that guilds everything it touches in a wash of bittersweet memory.  Come prepared to get caught in the undertow of emotions that this film will evoke.  (KB)