Cinema Paradiso

Beautiful, joyous, and passionate. I gave myself some time to digest this film before I wrote out my thoughts. The performance given by Toto is so pure and wholesome and I believe he taps into something deep that lies within everyone who loves movies and cinema. His love for Alfredo also shares the same purity and this ultimately comes to fruition when it cuts to a shot of Toto's face as he watches Alfredo's short film with the kiss outtakes. I wasn't expecting to be so moved and usually don't in movies but this scene really got me. A large part of the emotional impact of the film is also due to Morricone's score which is so beautiful I'm almost convinced it did more heavy lifting than the movie as a whole. Aside from the narrative and performances, it's also just a classicly beautiful movie in the Italian style with countless stunning shots. This is a classic for me. 10/10