Projecting a Cinematic Mirror of Memories:
How the Films Featured in Cinema Paradiso Reflect Salvatore’s past
Matthew King- mk24686
mattrking@verizon.net
In his 1988 film Cinema Paradiso, director Giuseppe Tornatore presents classic
Italian films to mirror the progression of Salvatore’s life; the films themselves become a
form of nostalgia linking him to his past. In the beginning, the first film shown, Jean
Renoir’s The Lower Depths, is restricted from Salvatore’s viewing, which, consequently,
instigates his curiosity for the cinema. Simultaneously, the risqué nature of the classic
film reflects Salvatore’s promiscuous childhood as his forbidden fascination for the
theater develops throughout the film. The scene where he and Alfredo present Gone With
the Wind in the town square illustrates Salvatore’s self-realization that he has the
capability of bringing the community together through movies. Especially during a film
about the need for communal survival, this moment of shared togetherness between
