A response to Cinema Paradiso

I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the posts and each of them gave me new insight of what the movie was attempting to portray or reveal. One of the post-ers (andrewfilmblog1) made an interesting point that like many films, Cinema Paradiso focused on the main character. However, I disagree because this was not stressed enough. This film was unique because rather than following a plot line, the story followed the protagonist. It was so focused on the realistic portrayal of life that the ending seemed anticlimactic. In life people do not necessarily come across epiphanies or stages of enlightenment as easily as they are portrayed on the silver screen. But even then, I would have to disagree with andrewfilmblog1. The ending was satisfactory.

The last scene of the movie in which Salvatore plays the reel of spliced love clips succintly ends the life of Salvatore. Actually, it ends the life of Toto by bringing it to a complete close and combines the identities of the successful film director with that of the passionate and curious young boy. I enjoyed Dobbsblog's analysis of Toto's separate identities and the combination of these elements. Toto becomes lost in his love for Alfredo, Eleanor, and the movies, all of which are resolved with the final reel. Many have argued that this final montage of lovers was anticlimactic or unsatisfactory. However, all of Toto's confused identies are able to merge through this film. Alfredo because he realizes the sacrifice he's made (both physically and emotionally) to foster Salvatore's growth, Eleanor (and his other "casual" lady friends) because the love that he had been experiencing this entire time was nothing more than reenactments of the Hollywood drama he so enjoyed, and the movies because he finally sees that his life transcends the rigid plot form of films.

There were a few statements that I saw that claimed there were two storylines within Cinema Paradiso, one following the growth of a young boy Toto and the other a romantic love story. However, I see only one, and that is the tangible, passionate pursuit of magic of the movies. The love interest "side story," if one could call it that, is nothing more than a manifestation of the protagonist's love for film. She is merely as aspect of a movie that is never fully understood or experienced. I noticed that many posts did not seem to state this. The reason for the infatuation with Eleanor was because this blonde-blue-eyed beauty was something that was never experienced by anyone in the town. The priest, having always censored the sensual portions, prevented the citizens from indulging in the romantic aspect of Hollywood. This deprivation of an element so common in the movies forced Toto to desperately search for this missing piece. He needed to complete the puzzle, take the whole Hollywood experience, and the church was stopping him from doing so. Eleanor was merely a fraction of Salvatore's passion for movies.

Cinema Paradiso does not follow the Hollywood formula. In fact, it completely disparages the concept, especially through Toto's painful experiences. Alfredo lost his eyesight while showing cliche classical films and Eleanor leaves the main character despite the perfect Hollywood method of "getting the girl." The director makes it clear that he does not want his film to be just "another great film." The spliced love clips in the last scene reveals to Toto the foolishness of trying to adapt to the movie world. The collapse of his theater, the death of Alfredo, and the procession of aging townfolks reveal the results of the fantasy world of movies. Salvatore finally comes to term, balancing his passions for movies and his responsibilities that he had escaped.