‘Cinema Paradiso’ takes us back into the faded but not forgotten past

Islamabad

Writer-Director: Giueppe Tornatore

As a New Year treat, the Lok Virsa film club -- 'Mandwa' -- is offering us a special Italian jewel of a film 'Cinema Paradiso' from 1988 today (Saturday) at 3 p.m.

'Cinema Paradiso' is an honoured and distinguished film for many reasons. It has not only won numerous awards at home in Italy but got special award at the most prestigious Cannes International Film Festival in France and Best Foreign Film Academy Award Oscar in 1990. Only a few films can claim being that precious.

The film is about films or rather about cinema. It takes us back into the faded but not forgotten past. The time is late forties and the Second World War has just ended. Our main character is a movie director who looks back into the years gone by. It was his childhood memories, in a small village and the people who were part of his life. As the flashbacks fade in on the screen, we see a gorgeous child (too smart, too cute and too intelligent for his age) living with his single mother. He has kind of fallen in love with the movies. His passion for movies has taken a new turn with even spending hard-earned cash, given by his mother for the groceries, on watching movies. A better choice comes when he befriends the senior cinema projectionist who unwillingly lists him as his only apprentice.

'Cinema Paradiso' is an enchanting film, which would melt you through its duration of 125 minutes. It takes us back into a different world. A world and a time when things were simple, may be even pure and romantic. One of the biggest merits of the film is its powerful and well-knit screenplay without any jolts, inconsistencies and irrelevance. The accompanying shining factors include gripping direction, powerful performance by the child, cinema projectionist, the supporting characters, the camerawork and music. And when combined together, you have nothing less than a memorizing screen experience. All this then creates a magic of its own with a world that it was.

The film gives us small insights with incidents which help build the characters and bring them into life almost real and living. There are no computer-generated visuals here which are being adored this week by millions of young and not-so-young film goers around the world in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. There are no hair-raising car chases, flying down from the airplanes or deadly explosions. 

'Cinema Paradiso' is a simple emotional and sentimental trip down memory lane with bitter-sweet heart warming past accompanied by period details (sets, movie theatre, censor excisions being done in the theatre, posters, wardrobe, the street ambiance, decor and vehicles). It is a kind of film which improves with every screening, and you learn a bit more about an era now behind us, wishing it would come back.

A few critics have panned the film for manipulating our emotions. It is one instance where we do like being manipulated (read: exploited)  for a couple of hours in return for a warm, wonderful and at times even funny enjoyable trip to 'Cinema Paradiso'.

The author can be reached at aijazzgul@gmail.com