Cinema Paradiso

Needless to say, movies are my only rescue these days. When I get back home tired after writing some heck mock CAT, Rosebowl shows up with their matinee movie which they have put in the category "Sweethearts". And then I see While You Were Sleeping, Sweet Home Alabama, You've Got Mail for the umpteenth time. But I can't resist seeing 'em. Romantic-Comedy is my usual genre. By the way, I found one thing. That Hollywood filmmakers have always been in love with Cinderella. They have adapted the story in many shapes and sizes. Like, there is one geek girl, who prefers to be invisble. She has a love interest who happens to be the boyfriend of the most popular girl of the school. And then when Prom Night comes, she wears this holy beautiful gown and impresses the hero. Then there is some bitching by the Villi. But the story ends well. The hero and the heroine live happily ever after. So how many movies have you seen of this type? Ask me- its innumerable. But the funny thing is I still enjoy these movies. Particularly when it comes to the school stories, they are so colorful which forces me to sit down and watch each one of these movies.

But occassionaly I do see other kind of movies. Which are of not my type, generally those slower ones. AM was the one who used to see such movies. UTV movies being her favorite channel. Because of her, me and Lallu used to see Japanese and Chinese movies which had no stunt sequences. Before that, my perception about the movies from those regions were that only Jackie Chan and Jet Lee made movies there. The other day, I saw Cinema Paradiso which I saw just because a friend of mine suggested it. Thanks to my internet connection, it took more than a month to download it. And after all the effort, I was glad that I saw the movie. For me, it wasn't anything related to inspirational or motivational. And me being ignorant of the world cinema, I couldn't even get, what to say, the development of cinema during and after the world war which was showcased in it. But for me, it was as if I were reading a pleasant book. The memories of the childhood, the childhood hero, the fantasies we have at that time, the blunders at school, the first love etc. You say it, and it was there in the movie. The knowledge that someone is there with you in whatever you do and whatever you achieve is a great relief. It doesn't burden you but it strengthens you, to do more.

Two scenes of the movie which made my mouth wide open with awe were 1. the scene in which Alfredo allow the crowd outside the theatre to watch the movie by turning the projection and the young Toto is mused to see it. 2. the last scene in which Toto sees the series of kissing scenes which were earlier manually edited by Alfredo upon the Priests' order, Alfredo had left Toto with this film after his death. When I saw this scene, I was totally relieved. Alfredo was earlier was being accused to have made Toto loose his first and only love. But leaving behind the film, meant that he had always cared for Toto and also believed in his capabilities as a film maker. How nice it is when you have a person who believes in you more you do in yourself. These were a few things I enjoyed in the movie.