+6
Cinema Paradiso
Movie are an escape for many of us. They offer a brief respite from our daily lives. At any time, we can experience anything we wish, depending on what we want to watch.
Tornatore shows us post war Italy during a time where movies were indeed an escape from the reality of a uncertain time.
Told through the eyes of a young boy who grows before us, he uses movies as an escape, much like we do. But there’s a passion there as well. One he learns to appreciate from his father figure, Alfredo, who was a projectionist who taught him much about movies, and life, and often used movies as a teaching tool.
The problem is, Tornatore doesn’t allow us to really identify with anyone, or even allows us to settle into the movie. He glides from scene to scene without letting us appreciate the moment. For example, in one scene the cinema burns down. Alfredo is injured. That alone should have been given some screen time to allow us to understand the impact of the tragedy. Instead, it is rebuilt in the very next scene. And we see Alfredo, although still clearly injured, having already adapted to his situation.
Since we aren’t given ample time to properly appreciate the scenes, I found myself unable to appreciate the film itself. It kept itself too distant by moving through the scenes too fast, not allowing us to properly process them.
That’s not to say there aren’t any good scenes. At times, I was moved. But those were fleeting, as Tornatore moves on to the next scene.
I wonder if the directors cut fixes this problem?
Anyways, it’s a miss, and I much prefer Malena from 2000, as it seemed more focused.