Life is not like a movie, life is much harder. - Everett
Cinema Paradiso is directed by the famous Italian director Giuseppe Tornadore, released in Italy on November 17, 1988, and caused a huge response after its release, winning the 62nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. This movie has been more than 30 years now, but under the rating of 450,000 people on Douban, it can still be high 9.2 points, which shows everyone's love for this movie.
Cinema Paradiso is one of Giuseppe Tornatore's trilogy of time and space. The time and space trilogy, including "Paradise Cinema", "The Pianist of the Sea", "The Beautiful Legend of Sicily", also known as the Search for Trilogy and the Homecoming Trilogy, actually represents that the director uses the same narrative structure in the three works, alternating back and forth between the past and the present timeline, allowing us to constantly shuttle between the "present" and the "past", in this long river of time and history, to understand a different life physical examination.
"Cinema Paradiso" also runs through the whole drama with the "shuttle" of the protagonist Duoduo's current and past timelines, using Duoduo's growth to reflect the changes of the Cinema on Sicily, the growth process of life and the realization of pursuing dreams. The plot itself is not complicated, telling the story of the boy Duoduo who likes to watch movies since he was a child, pestering the only old man on the island who can show movies, Evert, teaching him to learn to play movies, and then experiencing the life course of losing his father, falling in love, joining the army, and finally leaving the island to pursue his dreams under the encouragement of Everett.
The film takes Duoduo's growth experience as the main line, there is no ups and downs, the heart-pounding storyline, only the narration like the breeze and the flowing water of the small bridge, relying on the changes in the lives and thoughts of Duoduo and the people on the island on the only paradise cinema on the island, showing the audience the good time that has passed and the vision of the future with a peaceful but real simple picture.
Different people watching "Paradise Cinema" will have their own different feelings, some people see love, some people see family affection, some people see growth. In this article, I will analyze the reason why "Cinema Paradiso", one of the trilogies of time and space, can maintain such a high score from four aspects: the change of the cinema, the relationship between Dodo and Evert, the choice of dreams, family affection, love and the characteristics of Giuseppe Tornado's films.
1. "Paradise Cinema" is the origin of Duoduo's dreams, and it also evokes the memories of the audience and triggers empathy
The "Cinema Paradiso" got its name because it was originally run by the Church, so Heaven named the cinema as a beautiful symbol. And it also represents people's yearning and pursuit of a better future in the movie, isn't this beauty just "paradise"?
In the film, Duoduo was full of curiosity and thirst for movies when he was a child, although he was very young, he very much wanted to become a film projectionist, and he should know that the film projectionist at that time was a very special job, and he could give priority to seeing countless times "Hard Rice", "Guan Shan Feidu", "How Beautiful Life" and other films that were very popular at that time, which was even a privilege.
Dodo's love of movies led him to pray countless times for Evert to teach him to play movies, but they were rejected. In order to watch the movie, knowing that he would be beaten, he still took the money his mother bought him milk to buy movie tickets. Secretly took home the film film that Everett had cut, and the film burned, burning dad's only picture and almost burning his sister. But he still unrelentingly likes movies, and eventually exchanges an exam for a test to help Everford cheat in exchange for a chance to study screenings. This decision, made only by interest, gave him more opportunities to contact movies, understand the beauty of film art, and laid the foundation for him to become a well-known director in the future.
Seeing those black and white films in the movie, the open-air movies that everyone watched with the bench evoked the childhood memories of many viewers, and many people at that time were like these audiences, and every day there were open-air movies played like festivals, and they carried small benches on time to wait for the screen to be screened, afraid that there would be no good position when they were late. Although Cinema Paradiso is an Italian film, the love of cinema and the same memories of the past are borderless, and it is this that makes the audience empathize with the memories of their childhood.
2. The final demise of "Cinema Paradiso" shows the progress and changes of the times, but there will always be beauty left in the heart
Time is always moving forward, and everything is changing, as is cinema Paradiso in beautiful Sicily. From the original church cinema, where kissing shots were strictly prohibited, to the burning of the new and rebuilt cinema, where there were no taboos in playing content, and finally it was blown up. All reflect the changes of the times and society, when the cinema is finally blown up, the white-haired Duoduo and many other faces that have experienced vicissitudes are watching this moment, because in their hearts, this cinema carries the youth and good memories of the past, but it has since dissipated.
Seeing here always makes people feel sad and unwilling, the wheel of time will always stop moving forward, never stop for anyone's footsteps, the once brilliant cinema will eventually be eliminated, and the once young people have become the old. While recalling the beauty of the past, he also lamented the youth that had passed.
Director Giuseppe Tornatore never imposes his feelings on the audience in the film, but uses a bystander's perspective to try to objectively show the audience the calm and true side of the story, but from a certain point of view, this is a kind of cruelty, just because of the truth and objectivity, it can make the audience feel and recall the beauty of his past from his seemingly waveless film, and this kind of remembrance is often very cruel, because the years pass, people are old, the beauty of the past can not come back, this can be a memory, It was just that I was confused at the time.
In the play, Duoduo is not much impressed with his father, because when he was very young, his father went to the battlefield, and even when his mother cried bitterly when he received the news of his father's sacrifice, Duoduo smiled at the movie poster of "Gone with the Wind". It is unfortunate to lose his father, because his life will not be accompanied by his father. However, the appearance of Evert has made up for the vacancy of Duoduo's father role and become a mentor on the road of Duoduo's life, and it can be said that without Evert, there will be no later famous directors.
1. Everett taught him a lot of bravery and kindness, and this bravery also saved his life
Although Evert has no culture, he even has to help him cheat in the town exams to pass, but it is this uneducated old man who teaches Duoduo kindness and bravery in the process of getting along with Duoduo. So when the movie theater caught fire, everyone ran out, and only toto, the child, resolutely returned to the screening room and rescued the unconscious Everett.
Duoduo's bravery can be said to be taught by Evert, and it can also be said that he learned from movies, but it is precisely because of this bravery that he saved Everett's life, and it is also the basis for him to leave his hometown alone in the future to go out and make his own career.
2, Everett taught More love, but prevented More Love for the future of Many
Growing up, Toto naturally encountered the subject of love, and Evert told the story of the soldiers who spent 99 days waiting for the princess and finally leaving. Let Duoduo understand that some love is not something you can get if you want it, and you may eventually lose it.
Like a soldier, Toto waited for his lover in the wind and rain, and then he was luckier than the soldier, and finally touched the heart of the "princess" when he was about to give up. However, the eventual marriage of a lover is sometimes just a good wish and blessing, in the face of reality, the power of love seems so small, Duoduo and his own princess are eventually separated, and he also understands the meaning of the soldier story that Everett told him, and hides this love in his heart.
In the director's cut, we can also see that Everett even personally blocked Duoduo's love for the sake of Duoduo's future. Everett himself was never married, but he was able to enlighten the child with the wisdom of an elder, doing his duty as a father and teacher, choosing a path that seemed cruel but he thought was the most suitable for many.
3, Ivor guides Duoduo to chase his dreams, even if the dreams make him bear loneliness
In Everett's eyes, Toto is his child, and his children should not be imprisoned on this "cursed" island, he should go to the vast space outside to pursue his dreams. So when Toto wanted to give up his studies for the sake of screening work, Evert said that he must not give up school, because Toto could not play movies for a lifetime, saying to Toto: "One day, you will do other things, do more important and meaningful things." ”
When Dodo, who had returned from military service, met Everte at the seashore and said to Dodo: "Life is not like a movie, life is much harder, leave here, go to Rome, you are still young, the world is yours, and I am old, I don't want to hear you talk about it anymore, I want to hear people talk about you." The moment Duo duo was ready to leave his hometown, Evert repeatedly stressed that he should forget everything in his hometown and not let Duo Duo come back.
This scene is more like our father taught us, obviously in our hearts we are very eager for the child to be with us forever, you can open your eyes to see, reach out and touch. But they know what children should pursue, give them a better future, let go and even force their children to go out. For Evert, even this parting may mean a farewell.
Evert is a very important person in Toto's life, and it is important that when Everett dies, the mother must inform the son who has not been seen for 30 years to come back and see him for the last time. The appearance of Evert is also the key to changing Toto's life, otherwise Toto may be trapped on this small island for the rest of his life, and he does not know how to pursue his dreams. Sometimes the same is true of our lives, the emergence of a key person will change our lives, this person may be a father, a teacher, a lover, a friend, and they have only one purpose, hoping that we will be better, and who will come to mind at this time? Whoever you are, if you have, you're the luckiest person.
In the movie, Duoduo left his hometown and did not return for 30 years, even if he flew home by plane for just over an hour. The mother had not seen her son in 30 years. Duoduo listened to Evert's words and never returned, although he had already achieved fame and success, and he always felt that he did not dare to return to this hometown.
When Duo duo returned home, his mother excitedly dragged the unfinished sweater thread to him, and the wool was pulled open and stretched in a circle, which was released by his mother's thirty years of thoughts. Time passes in the wool, pulls the wool, pulls out the past and the memories.
The walls are covered with many photographs of various periods.
A small, old camera captures a film of her first love, Elena.
Dilapidated, long-abandoned cinemas.
This scene makes people feel as if they have returned to the watery years of the past, and various memories related to the cinema have once again appeared in his mind. This scene makes people feel that perhaps Duoduo's heart has never left his hometown, and he has also found his former self.
In love, duoduo has had countless lovers in the past 30 years, but there has never been a real lover, in his heart there is still only the former Elena, I don't know how to evaluate how affectionate or single-minded, but for the dream, Duoduo also gave up a lot, such as family affection, such as love.
Toto's path is the route that Everett has created for Toto, and even set it up with one hand, and Toto has not failed him, growing into what Everett wants. Growing from a child to a well-known director, he paid the price of not returning home for 30 years, and his lover was separated from him, seemingly losing something very important in his life.
However, when he finally saw the compilation album that Everett had left for him before his death, which had been cut off from film, there were kiss scenes that the priest had forbidden to play, and every scene was so beautiful and touching to watch. Behind the creation of these beautiful is the efforts of countless people, such as many people who have met with their relatives for 30 years, separated from their lovers, that is, in order to create this beauty in the movie, perhaps for the dream and give up, it is also worth it, is the value of life.
Life is rich and colorful, everyone's definition of success and the meaning of life is different, for Evert and Toto, perhaps the cost of losing contact with relatives and separating from lovers in exchange for becoming a successful filmmaker, the pursuit of their lifelong love of movies is the meaning of life.
But perhaps in the minds of others, staying on the island to accompany the mother and family, looking for a person who loves each other to live a life is also a kind of happiness, we can not evaluate the right and wrong of these two different choices, everyone has the right to define and find their own value, but no road is the best of both worlds, smooth sailing, maybe in order to succeed, we have to stay away from relatives and lovers; maybe in order to accompany relatives and lovers, we have to give up the pace of pursuing our dreams. But the choice is not regretted, firmly go forward, and achieve their goals is the ultimate victory.
Giuseppe Tornadore is very good at storytelling, telling bland life stories beautifully, making people accidentally immersed in the feeling of the movie, at first glance it is bland, but under the taste, it is profound. He does not like to use the lens to lyrically, but his film has a kind of objectivity, he is not directly into the subjective emotions of the audience to lead, but through the objective depiction of emotional stories in life to let the audience can not help but be freely attracted by the story, and willing to enter the deepest part of the story of the film, with the heart to dialogue with the film, which is why "Paradise Cinema" does not have a vigorous love, thrilling story, but still so many years still let people remember the reason.
The flexible use of many transition shots in this film is very impressive, making the whole film look more smooth, unfolding in front of the audience like a picture scroll.
The bell in the priest's hand went to the big bell of the big town.
The teacher knocks on the stupid student to the alarm transition of everth to sort out the film.
The blind Everett and Little Duoduo talked, touched Duoduo's face with his hand, and when he brought it, he found that the childish little face had become a handsome and handsome guy.
When the audience in the square thought that the camera was about to end, the madman who suddenly appeared in front of the mirror brought the picture back to the next scene.
Everett bid farewell to Dodo, and as the train drifted away, there appeared the late priest who said goodbye to Dodo in a loud voice, and also expressed what Dodo wanted to say to Everte.
This series of skillful transitions perfectly integrates the content and form of the film together, making people feel that this two-and-a-half-hour movie is completed in one go, without any sense of pause, so that the audience can better immerse themselves in the movie to feel the joys and sorrows and changes in the world, sigh the years, and find their own empathy.
summary:
Some people say that "Cinema Paradiso" is a semi-autobiographical body of Giuseppe Tornadore, and it is also a kind of display of his film career, regardless of whether it is true or not, the movie Evert's sentence "Life is much more difficult than the movie." ", evocative. Whether it is the director Giuseppe Tornadore itself, or Duoduo, or as an audience, we will always encounter various difficulties in life, firm in our own choices, know how to make trade-offs, move towards our own goals, and "shoot" a movie that belongs to our own lives.