One of the deep pleasures of movies is seeing one with companions and then chatting about it when the lights come up. That’s just what Piedmont’s Flix Fest, meeting on the second Thursday of each month, offers: a great movie in a comfortable setting, and then a lively discussion of it afterward.
February’s Flix Fest offering is the international favorite from Italy, the bittersweet comedy/drama, “Cinema Paradiso”. Winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1989, the film is often credited with reviving Italy’s film industry.
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, it was filmed in his small home town in Sicily. Set a few years after World War II, it focuses on eight-year-old Salvatore (Salvatore Cascio), the bright, mischievous son of a war widow. Nicknamed Toto, he discovers a love for movies and spends every free moment at the local movie house, Cinema Paradiso.
Although they initially start on tense terms, he forms a friendship with the middle-aged projectionist, Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), who often lets him watch from the projection booth. The boy finds in the images on the screen the perfect escape from life in his war-torn village. When he grows up, he falls in love with a beautiful local girl (Agnese Nano) and takes over as the Paradiso’s projectionist. Alfredo sets out to persuade Salvatore to leave his small town and pursue his passion for filmmaking.
Cinema Paradiso received widespread critical acclaim. Making Tornatore internationally known, it’s regarded by many as a classic. The movie is particularly renowned for the ‘kissing scenes’ montage at its end. The critic Roger Ebert gave it four stars out of four.
“Cinema Paradiso” will be screened on Feb. 13, at 1:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Rec Department, the event takes place at 801 Magnolia Avenue on the second Thursday of each month. Doors will open at 12:45. The event is free and open to anyone over 18 years of age. Participants are invited on a drop-in basis, though registration with the PRD is encouraged HERE . Everyone is welcome to bring snacks or lunch.
The next offering in the Piedmont series is one of the most honored of American films, “On the Waterfront”, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint, with a stirring score by Leonard Bernstein. It will be shown on March 13.