Cinema Paradiso Review

Most people don't have the time, money, or energy to watch a lot of movies, so when you do get a chance to watch something, you want it to be good. That's why Rotten Tomatoes exists: to give a snapshot of whether a movie is worth your time. But does it always work? I'll be watching all of Rotten Tomatoes’ Certified Fresh movies from this Wikipedia list starting in the year 1990, the decade I was born, and we'll see if these movies are really worth the hype.

Movie 3 of 1990

Cinema Paradiso, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, is an Italian film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1990 ceremony. First released in Italy in 1988, it was not distributed to a mainstream American audience until 1990. This film was also very well received at the BAFTAs, winning five, including Best Actor for Philippe Noiret and Best Supporting Actor for Salvatore Cascio.

It is quite impressive for such a young actor to have won such a notable award as Cascio did for playing child Toto, but it was incredibly well deserved. The look on this child's face as he is peeking through the curtains to watch the movie screen was filled with so much genuine wonder and excitement. This performance really set the tone of the film and made it feel magical.

At its core, this is a story about passion, but not only in the sense of loving another person romantically. We see how Toto's passion for film motivates so many interactions in his life. We also see how impactful mentorship of these passions can be through the character Alfredo (Philippe Noiret). Even when Alfredo's actions aren't the most honest, he always does what he thinks will benefit Toto the most, including if it means they will never see each other again. 

I saw so much reverence for physical film here. I don't have much of an opinion on the film versus digital debate, but this did help me see how much effort and respect were put into filming and then screening something through this medium. There was also a lot to say about how movies can bring communities together. It definitely shows the beauty that can be found through a theatrical experience. As someone who doesn't watch movies in a theater much anymore, it reminded me that there can be some benefit to those communal experiences.

This was very well made and showed a lot of care and detail in all aspects of filmmaking. Despite its almost three-hour-long run time, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. As someone who is also passionate about film, it really spoke to me. It did suffer from a bit of IT-syndrome where I didn't care about the older Toto as much as child or teen Toto, but I do believe every part of the film was purposeful.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Is it worth the hype?:

Definitely a must-see! Chances are, if you're a film lover, you'll be moved. The magic of cinema is highlighted here in such a unique way. I can definitely see why this won so many awards, as I'm sure it was a favorite among industry folk. If you have never seen this before, give it a watch because it's truly a movie that I think everyone should experience at least once.