Cinema Paradiso

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Cinema Paradiso is widely regarded as a classic of world cinema, earning strong critical favor for its warmly nostalgic portrait of childhood, community, and the movies themselves. The film is especially renowned for its final montage of censored kissing scenes, which many consider one of cinema's great emotional payoffs. The main point of critical curiosity is the relationship between the original theatrical cut and the extended version — longer isn't necessarily better, even when the extra footage deepens the story.