<p>Perpetually on 100 Greatest Movies lists and lauded since it's release more than 20years ago, Cinema Paradiso to me was worth watching just to tick it off list; to have an opinion on. <br>
In hindsight, I can see why film fans and cinema critics love it so much- It's like The Notebook for movie nerds. It's a Mills and Boon love letter to the darkened room with the magic beam of light called cinema and y'know... Obviously, I'm hip to his 'eternal magic of film' message but i still say when you cross the 2 1/2hrs mark, you're crossing to the darkside. <br>
But then I'd be lying if i said Giuseppe Tornatore's sentimental journey, didn't resonate with me. <br>
The almost 50year story of an old projectionist and his sweet young boy protégé plays out in 3 parts, when the boy is in his tweets, his late teens and his fifties and we see how cinema builds their friendship and shows us how captivating a role film can play in our lives. In the Italian community, where the film is set- the town cinema is where the community gathers to. They all watch together, this being before tv and the Internet. It reminds you how exciting it is to be in a packed cinema, how an audience can breath life into a film. It's a simpler time, that i certainly don't wish to return to but it's nice to visit. <br>
Then again they get to watch movies outside in the summer, under the moonlight which looks and sounds heavenly. One of my favourite movie experiences was watching The Blues Brothers under the stars with thousands of compares at Glastonbury, one year. <br>
I guess when the film turns into a literal love story and the young Toto begins to find love for himself, that's when I started checking out. You can trust me when I say that this film could very comfortably finish after the 2hr mark but it insists on continuing with the story passed the point of caring with a seemingly tacked-on wraps-everything-up-in-a-tidy-bow 40min epilogue. Now admittedly this is the director's cut - so... okay, there are other shorter versions readily available but like Oliver Tate from Submarine, i think it's the preferential way the filmmakers would want me to watch the film but as I say, the stuff I liked was the etherial magic of cinema stuff at the start because the little boy and the old man make such a cute friendship and the schmaltzy nostalgia for cinema of yore is quite effective is reminding you of your own early memories of going to the pictures; watching some crap 6weeks after everyone at the Park and Dare, a grand old theatre and sneaking underage into films at a god-forsaken fleapit called the Phoenix... <br>
These times are cherished memories that ignited my love for film today... </p>
<p>I watched Cinema Paradiso -Director's Cut (1988) on DVD via LoveFilm. <br>
My 2011 in Movies will return with Point Blank (A Bout Portant) (2010)... </p>
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