{"id":3591,"date":"2023-01-31T10:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/?p=3591"},"modified":"2023-01-27T11:00:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T10:00:48","slug":"giuseppe-tornatore-a-master-of-italian-cinema-constantly-reflecting-on-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2023\/01\/31\/giuseppe-tornatore-a-master-of-italian-cinema-constantly-reflecting-on-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Giuseppe Tornatore, A Master of Italian Cinema Constantly Reflecting on the Past"},"content":{"rendered":"

Film Review by Franco Ferrarini, Gastroenterologist and Film Reviewer
\n<\/strong>\u2018Film Legends Among Us\u2019 series
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no future, Salvatore: only the past exists. <\/em>(Quote from \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d)<\/p>\n

\"PortraitGiuseppe Tornatore is an Italian film director and screenwriter who, after the Golden era from the \u201850s to the \u201870\u2019s led by Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti, restored the impact of Italian cinema in the \u201980s. Born in Bagheria, Sicily, in 1956, Tornatore\u2019s interest in creative expression began at the tender age of 16 as a staging theatre director in Eastern Sicily for plays by Luigi Pirandello and Eduardo De Filippo. Tornatore was inspired by his mentor, the photographer Mimmo Pintacuda, who later inspired the character of Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) in Tornatore\u2019s masterpiece \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d<\/em> (1988). From 1981 up to now, Tornatore directed 12 feature films and 10 documentaries, not to mention a prolific output as a producer, writer, and film editor.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Past\u2019 is an important concept that Tornatore explores in most of his films. Memories are vital for living in the present and planning for the future. However, some people might remain haunted by past events as seen in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In affected individuals, rather than trying to forget and moving on, which are virtually impossible, a remedial approach is to gradually learn how to cope with past trauma using psychological techniques such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.[1]<\/a> Themes of history and memories are analysed in Tornatore\u2019s filmography either from a nostalgic viewpoint, as something that one desires to live again, or as a legacy that never really passed away. His characters are actively searching for fragments of their Past or passively impacted by it in the present.<\/p>\n

From a nostalgia viewpoint, we find Tornatore\u2019s most celebrated film, \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d<\/em> (1988), for which he received the Academy Award for best foreign film in 1990, an almost autobiographical account. The protagonist, Salvatore Di Vita (Jacques Perrin), was born in Giancaldo, a small town in Sicily. As the young boy, nicknamed \u201cTot\u00f2\u201d, fond of cinema, he develops a friendly relationship with Alfredo, the film projectionist at the local theatre \u201cCinema Paradiso\u201d. When the theatre is destroyed by fire, which leaves Alfredo blind, Tot\u00f2 takes up Alfredo\u2019s job in the rebuilt theatre. Tot\u00f2 and Elena (Brigitte Fossay), daughter of a local banker, fall in love but her family does not approve of their relation and suddenly relocate to another town. Tot\u00f2 believes that Elena does not really care about him. Depressed and frustrated, Tot\u00f2 decides to go to Rome to pursue a career in show business and vows to never go back to Giancaldo. In spite of his successful career as a film director he is not satisfied with life. After 30 years since leaving his hometown, he learns of Alfredo\u2019s death, and decides to go back to his hometown. After the funeral Tot\u00f2 meets Elena who is now married with children. After having paid his respect to Alfredo and confronting Elena, Salvatore goes back to Rome, at long last reconciled with his Past.<\/p>\n