A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.
Every bit as enchanting as you remember. Molto, molto bene.
Set in Sicily, it looks lovely and is full of classic, memorable moments, including a tear-jerking finale.
Cute kids, crafty crusties and the magic of cinema reduced to a compendium of soppy platitudes.
As enchanting as ever.
Cinema Paradiso is a movie of glorious moments but it is undermined by its own chronic, nostalgia-fuelled soppiness.
It's a real experience and a classic. But a sweet tooth is necessary.
They really don't make them like that any more. Which is probably (sobs, blows nose) a bloody good thing.
A movie that dispenses bittersweetness, nostalgia and uplift in potent doses.
Recent changes to cinema which have seen the projectionist's art sidelined in the digital age add a further layer of poignancy to the magical memories.
Philip French on Cinema Paradiso
Cinema Paradiso and the rise of the postcard-arthouse movie
Cinema Paradiso: the little movie that could
General release. Check local listings for show times.
RSS feed of Cinema reviews