Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (PG) 

Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore

5 stars

Giuseppe Tornatore's masterpiece Cinema Paradiso, beautifully restored using the original negatives, lives again in this new print

A moving celebration of the era of the "magic lantern," it's set in Tornatore's native Bagaria and sheds a warm light on the riches of life in the poor, stone-built little town. 

It tells the story of the young boy Toto who, living with his mother and his younger sister in poverty and with an absent soldier father, falls in love with cinema. 

It becomes Toto's second home and Alfredo the projectionist is like a father to him. 

Toto's personal development is tied to the cinema - he smokes his first cigarette while watching a film, gets his first job there as Alfredo's replacement and kisses his first love for the first time in the projection booth. 

Featuring beautifully nuanced performances and one of Ennio Morricone's most memorable scores, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso is packed with the history of cinema and laced with delightful humour. Tornatore has made many different kinds of films since this one but he's rarely matched it for its subtle magic. 

Rita di Santo