1988
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
Man, I did not handle the last scene of this film well. I can't see anyone not crying during that scene, although I suppose people think the same thing about Terms of Endearment, which I watched with dry eyes. I just love movies so much! Okay, I'll stop before I start to blubber.
Salvatore, the young son of a war widow, loves films and spends all his spare time at the local movie theater. He develops a friendship with Alfredo, the projectionist, and eventually learns how to run the projector himself. He also starts experimenting with cameras, meeting the beautiful Elena in the process.
I didn't make that sound very interesting, but I wasn't sure what would constitute as a spoiler or not. This is just a film for movie lovers and since you are on a film blog, it's safe to say you would enjoy it (unless you are just here for my winning personality). Even without that element, the relationships and characters in this film are heartwarming; I don't think you can walk away from this movie without feeling just a little better about the world.
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Tornatore's vision was that the film would serve as an obituary to the movie industry in Italy.
Which version did you see? I watched the 173-min version which I understand to be the director's cut. In this the film splits into three roughly-equal sections. But apparently the original release was basically just the first two bits?
ReplyDeleteThe first section as a young boy was best. Did you find the teenage Salvatore slightly dislikeable?
I saw the director's cut version too. I thought Salvatore was a very typical teenage boy, so maybe a little annoying but it rang true to me.
DeleteI saw this again last night. The 105 yr old cinema in Keswick has had a crowd funded restoration, and they had a celebration screening for contributors.
ReplyDeleteIt was very well received, but ... I've had reservations since I first saw it ..xxxxx years ago, and last nights viewing failed to substantially shift my mildly negative view.
Yes, there is a lot to recommend it, and despite seriously not liking films with kids in, the first half trots along nicely (Also since first viewing I've seen a lot more Italian Neo realism films, so I had that smug 'I know that one' feeling.
But by the next bit, I was getting bored, and even finding him just that little bit creepy*, and certainly the whole thing became rather.. bland.
So sorry, not a classic for me....
* Get your point Dessie