To those of us who live in places less beautiful than Sicily, and which have lost connection with their peasant heritage much longer ago, there's a natural appeal to stories from that island. 'Cinema Paradiso' provides a nostalgic look at post-war Sicily, and also of Italian cinema during that era; in the story of how progress led to television, the death of the cinema as a social institution and the individualisation of people's lives, it recalls 'The Last Picture Show'. There's similarity as well in the conflict between attachment to one's community and the desire to escape, although it lacks Peter Bogdanovich's film's sense of overwhelming claustrophobia. Indeed, the emotional temperature of the film is actually quite muted, in spite of the surface colour and vigour. I enjoyed it, but (especially in a setting with such a complex historical and political backdrop) it could have benefited from a shade more intensity.
Review of Cinema Paradiso
