Cinema Paradiso - A movie of HOPE

I survived on a diet of movie and books and I look back in 2024 ½ year - it’s been a drought for reasons beyond my control. Lots of ups and down - in recent days mostly down. Except for browsing, downloading and shortlisting, I haven’t done much of seeing.

I ended the drought with Cinema Paradiso - what was an endless spiral which was going out of control, I just shut everything, put on my headphone and saw this. I had heard great things about the movie sometime somewhere and it was stored in one corner of my mind. It was just instinctive decision to see this so I could change my mood. 

And what a treat it was to see it. Made in 1989 / 25 years back and winner of cannes jury award and best foreign film in Oscar  and many other it’s really a classic which can be seen many time. 

But the big reason why I keep turning to movies is that it gives me hope, a ray of sunshine in the end of a bad day, days in my case. 

Like Martin Scorsese says “It’s the only medium which can transport you to another world”. It does this time to a small Sicilian village Giaconda and the story is told in flashback, from 1988 you go to 19 58. There is only 1 theater ‘Cinema Paradiso’ in the village and the only entertaining resource & 1 person can play the projector - Alfredo & the story is all about him a Salvatore who is crazy about films. The movie is about this relationship which Salvatore. He is a famous director living his high life when his mother tells him that Alfredo has died. That night as he lies down he remembers all the moments which has made him what he is today. He decides to visit the city after 30 years to attend the funeral. As he walks around the town astonished by the changes he sees the theater being demolished to be replaced by a parking lot or a super market. It’s a metaphor of Alfredo’s death - he was ‘Cinema Paradiso seeing all the movies through the keyhole of projector. He would remember all old movie he projected & repeat dialogues and quotes made by famous actors to Salvatore.

The heart of the movie is Salvatore Cascio, who plays the boyhood Salvatore. His performance is an absolute treasure to watch. His love for cinema is infectious, his nascent friendship with Alfredo is uplifting. He's sweet, he's funny, he's just plain lovely.

It’s also a statement on ‘what we call progress’ - I realized we cannot stop it till the world tears it apart. If we are so comfortable with progress I wonder why do we have to look back with nostalgia. I guess because those moments or times cannot be brought back. But we want to savor those moments of innocence - the childhood which will come back only when you live similar moments with your child and the cycle keeps repeating.

And that’s why movies are made 🙂 So we can relive those moments - the movie is the medium to take us back and give us HOPE.

Clouds

The clouds were rolling by - Dark and big ones like the dreams which chase me at night and wake me with a jolt. With a group of virtual friends coming together and holding their hands, it helps me to survive in the physical world. Where I sit and watch the clouds roll by.

I choose love after listening to Zukov, because that is the right choice to make, who would choose fear I wonder. No one but it’s just the subconscious the body’s automatic reaction coded by past experience and actions which comes out of nowhere.

The sun shines every morning and the dark cloud drifts away, I walk, run to do keep me alert to change the neural path so that at night the automatic reactions are deactivated. And I can sleep in peace n comfort. 

Today my mind is blank as I watch the clouds, I walked a bit seeing the setting sun, a gentle breeze which feels good in my skin and gives a feeling of freshness. The sound of the city is overpowering - cars, buses, auto. It’s like a war out there. 

I step back into the comfort of my home and headphones as I watch the the last clouds roll by and the blanket of darkness envelop the city, the trees, the birds and everything else.