![[Mini Theater Revisited] No. 22: Coming back from the movie town of Ginza... Part 11 Cine Switch's classic "Cinema Paradiso"](https://cinemore.jp/images/42a502495c8487a0ea7f77b821601efd9cf67ce9b39ca0901afc70ba73d45d16.jpg)
[Mini Theater Revisited] No. 22: Coming back from the movie town of Ginza... Part 11 Cine Switch's classic "Cinema Paradiso"
``Cinema Paradiso theaters, opened at Cine Switch Ginza in 1989.
As a result, it was screened at this one theater alone for about 10 months, attracting 260,000 people.
Nowadays, films are often released in "mini-theater expansions" that are released at the same time in several theaters, making it difficult to have a long run in one theater, but in the 1980s, time moved more slowly than now.
This movie reached the pinnacle of the mini-theater box office, and from the 1990s onward, mini-theaters continued to produce various blockbusters.
*The following articles were serialized on the website operated by Geijutsu Shimbun between 2013 and 2014. This time, we have received permission from Sawako Omori and Geijutsu Shinbunsha Co., Ltd. to reprint this work.
Index
lost paradise
White curtains flutter in the wind on the screen, and flower pots placed on the balcony catch your eye. There is a wide ocean beyond the balcony. Sweet music overlaps with the scenery, and a movie title in Italian appears.
Nouveau Cinema Paradiso. The English title is ``Cinema Paradiso.'' In Japanese, it means "New Movie Theater, Paradise-za". This is the story of a time when movies were at the center of entertainment, and the places where they were shown represented people's dreams and aspirations. The story takes place in Italy shortly after the war, and the main character is Toto, an innocent boy living in the Sicily region.
His father went to war and never returned, so he lives with his mother and sister.
I enjoy going to the movie theater next to the church.
Sometimes, she spends the money given to her for milk on movies, and her mother scolds her harshly.
Still, I can't suppress my curiosity about the movie.
Staring at the image, the boy can fly into another world.
For someone who doesn't have much wealth, Paradise feels like a paradise.
However, you will understand as the story progresses. That it is a "lost paradise"...
Toto, whose hair has turned white, lives in a house where the curtains blow in the wind.
Then, a phone call from his hometown takes him back to his childhood.
As he retrieves his memories, he finds the Paradise Theater and the projectionist, Alfredo.
Many memories with Alfredo that changed his life come back to Toto's mind...
The 1980s Italian film ``Cinema Paradiso'' (1989), directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, tells the story of Toto and Alfredo. This work is not a big budget work, nor is it a glamorous work. His style is humane and simple.
However, even now, 25 years after its release in Japan, its popularity has not waned, and it has been one of the popular programs at the ``10am Film Festival'' held at multiplexes for several years. .
The availability of DVDs at rental stores doesn't seem to be bad (by the way, my local store has three of them, but they're usually out on loan). Furthermore, it is often included as a closing program at movie theaters.
The soundtrack was also extremely popular, as the light yet heart-felt music by Ennio Morricone, a master of the film music world, was wonderful.
Some mini-theater works may be hits at the time, but over time they lose their former popularity. However, after becoming a huge hit when it was released at Cine Switch Ginza in the late 1980s, ``Cinema Paradiso'' remains a beloved work to this day.
◉The heart-warming smile of ``Boy Toto'' left a strong impression on this movie, and the child actor who played Toto, who came to Japan, also appeared in a Fuji TV commercial.
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