Screening Report 5: Italy: Cinema Paradiso

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening:

 At the end of the World War II, Italy became a tramautized country that was wrecked by extreme poverty and political turmoil. Italian filmmakers responded to these conditions with a new style of filmmaking known as neo-realism. They used non-professionally trained actors, real life locations and footage to tell stories about the harshness of reality in Italy. One of the first notable neo-realism films was the Bicycle Thief (1949) which was directed by Vittori De Sica, and the main character in the film was a steelworker, not a trained actor, who brought his son along to act in the film with him. Giuseppe Tornatore is a well-known Italian director, he directed Cinema Paradiso, winning an Oscar in 1989 for Best Foreign Language Film. Cinema Paradiso is a bit more modern version of a neorealism film, but takes place in post World War II, and definitely shows the reality of life for the lower-class people in Italy.


2. Find a related article and summarize the content:


As a young boy in the postwar 1940's, Salvatore, better known as Toto, has a strong love for movies and builds a close friendship (almost father-son like) with Alfredo, the projectionist at the Cinema Paradiso. Toto slacks as an altar boy, but his presence is consistent at the Cinema. He loves to hang around the projection booth, where Alfredo is screening films for Father Adelfio, the local film censor. Adelfio makes sure that nobody that comes to the Cinema ever sees a movie kiss on screen. Toto ends up getting his hands on a collection of kiss scense that were cut from the screenings, and it ends up catching fire at his home underneath his bed and nearly burns down the cottage that he shares with his mother and sister. Cinema Paradiso is stuffed with dozens of clips and moments that evoke the heritage of cinema, aiming to celebrate the icons of cinema. The film, however, evokes nothing more substantial than sentimental B-movies made by hacks in Hollywood and abroad, and which go unrecognized by Giuseppe Tornatore in his anthology of clips. The 8 year old Toto ends up growing into Salvatore, the world-class movie director.

http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE1DB123FF931A35751C0A966958260



3. Apply the article to the film screened in class:

I thought the article was like a mixed bag of chips. The critique by Vincent Canby was a bit too one sided. Some points I agree on, while I also think he missed some key aspects of the film. He touched on the historical aspects of the history and heritage of cinema in Italy. He failed to touch on some themese of the film, such as sacrificing and guidance from a father-like figure. This article did not much support how I perceived the film.

4. Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article:

The director of Cinema Paradiso did a good job of mixing in the historical aspect of Italian cinema with themes of life lessons. When young Toto grew up into the young man that is Salvatore, he falls deeply in love with Elena, the new girl in town whose family is wealthy. After being saved from the fire that caused him to go blind and a new cinema to be built, Alfredo notices Salvatore's interest in Elena. Alfredo advises him to stay clear of love because it only causes pain, and to focus on himself. Elena eventually feels the same way for Salvatore as he does for her, but her father does not approve and keeps Elena away from him. Salvatore ends up joining the military due to an Italian law requirement that all young men serve a period of time in the army. When he returns home, he notices that a lot has changed and he has a difficult time adjusting. Alfredo urges Salvatore to leave and never return. He ends up becoming a successful filmmaker. When he does return for Alfredo's funeral, he talks with Elena and finds out that it was Alfredo who convinced her to leave him. It is in that moment that Salvatore realizes the role Alfredo played in shaping his life into what it now is. Alfredo knew that if he stayed there and chased after Elena, he would have never got to pursue his passion for film and become a successful filmmaker in Rome. He learned that is sometimes a necessity to sacrafice someone you love for something you love. And he also realized while he was without his biological father throughout his life, he had a great father figure in Alfredo. I found this film intriguing because all the Italian-related films I have seen in the past were Mafia-related (GoodFellas, The Godfather, Casino). It was nice to watch a film related to the history of Italian cinema.



Citations:
http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE1DB123FF931A35751C0A966958260
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/cinemaparadisonrhowe_a0b255.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/dec/09/cinema-paradiso-25th-anniversary

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 
1) ( ^ ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( ^ ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( ^ ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( ^ ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( ^ ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( ^ ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( ^ ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( ^ ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: ____Cameron Beall__________________________________  Date: _________3/1/18___________________