Above: Final Scene “Cinema Paradiso”
Cinema Paradiso is the story of Salvatore, called Totò, born in a small Sicilian village. As a child, after WWII, going to the cinema is the favorite pastime in his town, and Totò grows a love for movies; he also starts helping the local projectionist; at first there is some tension between them, but they soon become great friends, and the projectionist acts as a father to Totò. At the time love and kissing scenes were not allowed, so they had to cut them off.
In the final scene, Totò is an adult and famous filmmaker; he is watching a collage made with the scenes cut during his childhood at the cinema.
Cinema Paradiso, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore in 1988 with music by Ennio Morricone, in 1989 won the Golden Globe and Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film, plus the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1991 it won various BAFTA awards.
The original version of the movie was 173 minutes long; because it didn’t get enough success in Italy, it was cut to 123 minutes for the international release; the full version was released in 2002.
The movie was filmed in Palazzo Adriano, a small town near Palermo, Sicily. The municipality buildings of the town host an exhibitions of photos taken from the movie.
This scene is one of my favorite of all times, and Cinema Paradiso is one of the best of Italian movies. A celebration of love and kissing.
Below is the full movie in Italian, with Portuguese subtitles.
