Gadfly

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988, dir. Giuseppe Tornatore)

An effective movie and storytelling, I think, is one which put the outside reality to a pause and engulf you whole to its own reality. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso does exactly that.

While not everyone may have the same memory as Salvatore (the main character), Tornatore's storytelling and direction, perfectly melded with the script, cinematography, the actor's superb performances and Ennio Morricone' music, effectively fabricate that memory for you... and in effect, turn the whole movie as of its your own trip down memory lane--back to your childhood days in a small town, to your first friendships and your first love, to that feeling that everything else that matters is right there in your town, the center of the universe. Back to the torture of leaving, the expansion of your world, the temporary amnesia, and eventually, the surreal-ness of homecoming.

However, more than a love story, this movie, I think, is Tornatore's love letter to film. This love letter is beautifully made that even those who only know a thing or two about films would fall in love with the craft that is storytelling, in any form. ☮