The cinema of nostalgia
Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and Oscar for best foreign film in 1989, Cinéma Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore is the story of an initiation to cinema and a transmission between an old grump and a little boy.
When the film was released in 1988, many cinemas had already disappeared from the villages. TV is replacing large dark rooms and people are moving away from cinemas.
“Alfredo is dead”
When his mother gives him the bad news, Salvatore Di Vita, a well-known filmmaker, remembers his childhood in the village of Giancaldo in Sicily and the movie theater run by Alfredo, the projectionist.
As a child, he was Toto, Alfredo's assistant, who at the end of the 1940s was in charge of not revealing to the public the scenes that the parish considered too daring. A single kiss is an indecent assault. Alfredo takes a liking to the child and teaches him the tricks of the trade. It is an almost filial relationship that develops between these two film enthusiasts.
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Paradise Lost
These childhood memories pay homage to the guardians of the temple that are the projectionists and to these magical places where an entire village met. Cinema Paradiso as a popular, affordable and unifying leisure activity is evoked with tenderness.
Accompanied by the cult themes of Ennio Morricone, the story of this lost paradise reminds us how much these cinemas are part of our intimate history and the memories of Salvatore remind us how much we have been touched and moved by the magic of certain films. .
Giuseppe Tornatore's madeleine works wonderfully for lovers of dark rooms and remains one of the most beautiful tributes to the 7th art.
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The kings of the film set
The director was born in Sicily, near Palermo, on May 26, 1956. He was, at the time, a child passionate about the 7th art, who did not hesitate to skip school to go to the cinema.
With Cinéma Paradiso, Giuseppe Tornatore evokes what has become of the popular cinema that he loved so much and which filled him with enthusiasm as a child.
He also wants to show Sicily as a poetic land and not just linked to violence and the mafia.
Philippe Noiret will have tears in his eyes when reading the last pages of the script. To transform himself into a Sicilian artisan, the French bourgeois actor will work on the psychology of the character rather than the physical.
Salvatore Cascio never acted. Lively, intelligent, he comes from the neighboring village. The child has a lot of fun, he is a breath of fresh air on the set while the adults on the set suffer from the tensions between production and direction.
Teenage Toto is played by Marco Leonardi and Jacques Perrin will play the adult role. However, the duo of the projectionist and his apprentice will forever be remembered in the hearts of the spectators.
On September 29, 1988, at the Bari Europa Cinema Festival, which takes place in the capital of Puglia, the cheers of the public will last ten minutes.
The film presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989, the film crew will receive a standing ovation of more than 20 minutes from the public in tears.
