French-Italian co-productions have produced some great masterpieces. “La Loi, C’est la Loi”, “Il Gattopardo” and many others would never have seen the light of day if the two countries didn’t produce movies together. “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” is a great example of a beautiful partnership.
Young Salvatore Di Vita (Salvatore Cascio) discovers the perfect escape from life in his war-torn Sicilian village: the Cinema Paradiso movie house, where projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) instills in the boy a deep love of films. When Salvatore grows up, falls in love with a beautiful local girl (Agnese Nano) and takes over as the Paradiso’s projectionist, Alfredo must convince Salvatore to leave his small town and pursue his passion for filmmaking.
Giuseppe Tornatore (“Malèna”,” Baarìa”) decided to tell the story by using flashbacks to the youth of the main character. It is about the magic of cinema and the power of nostalgia without being too sentimental. The beautiful atmosphere of the small cinema and the movie clips are part of why this film is a must-see.
The film flopped in Italy but later became one of the most successful foreign-language movies of all time.
With a fantastic cast that included Jacques Perrin, Philippe Noiret, Leopoldo Trieste Marco Leonardi, Agnese Nano and Salvatore Cascio and music from Ennio and his son Andrea Morricone it is no surprise the movie became an instant classic.
“Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990 and the Grand Prix at Cannes.
