- Nunzio, what's wrong with you? - I can't breathe!
Alfredo! Alfredo!
Help! Help!
Help!
Poor Alfredo. What a shame.
All burned!
It all burned down!
What do we do now?
We have no more entertainment. Nothing.
Where will we get the money to rebuild?
Take a look at Ciccio. So spiffy, you'd hardly know him.
Who has that kind of money?
The new Cinema Paradiso!
Come in, come in!
This theater is for you!
He's just a boy. What about labor laws?
I got the license through connections.
Don't ask me how their minds work.
Officially, I'm the projectionist, but the money goes to Toto.
Stay on your toes, Toto. No sleeping.
We've had enough disasters.
Do what poor Alfredo taught you.
And God bless you.
Thank you, Father.
What is this, a funeral? Life goes on! Gaiety! Music!
Get a load of that!
Our Father!
By God, they're kissing!
I won't watch pornography.
Three cheers for Ciccio!
Any room for me in this new paradise?
Bring him home after you close.
I'm going, Alfredo.
I'm glad you're here.
How're things at school?
Fine, but now that I'm working...
maybe I won't go anymore.
No. No, Toto.
Don't do that.
You'll end up with egg on your face.
Why? What does that mean?
It means...
that this isn't your real work.
Right now the Paradiso needs you...
and you need the Paradiso...
but it's a stopgap.
One day you'll go on...
to other things.
Things...
that are more important.
Definitely more important.
I know.
Now that I've lost my sight, I see better.
Things I never saw before.
All thanks to you, who saved my life.
I won't forget it.
And don't look like that.
I'm not senile yet. Want proof?
Well, let's see.
For example...
right now, the film's out of focus.
Go check.
You're right! It's out of focus.
How'd you know?
Too hard to explain.
Only two days?
What do I care if you've rented all the prints?
I've only had it two days. They'll rip my head off here!
I wouldn't make it even if I opened at 8:00 a. M!
This is a big town, and you know it!
If you screw me over, I'll go straight to Rome!
You'll pay for this!
Don't mess with me, 'cause I'll split your skull open!
Don Ciccio, I have an idea.
Do you remember that old abandoned movie theater?
What about it?
The projector's rusted, but I could fix it in a couple of days.
You have the place cleaned up...
hire a projectionist from the city, and we'll have two theaters!
Bullshit!
Don't start, Toto.
Titanus will only let me have one print.
If I ask for another one, they'll cut my head off...
and play ball with it.
Who says we need two copies?
Well, don't we?
We see the crib. The child's asleep.
Help her!
"The lawyer told me. Now I know."
The lawyer told me. Now I know.
"And everyone must know. Yes, everyone must know."
Everyone must know.
"You believe me?"
"Yes, I believe you."
"Our own home. How I've dreamed of it!"
"Tonino!"
"Mama."
"The End."
I don't like it! I don't like it!
I cut the end credits to go faster.
Hurry back with part one. I'll show a newsreel.
I'll call the police. Take him.
Just a minute. Just a minute!
What do you want?
Give me part two. Here's part one.
Hurry, the house is packed.
What are you doing? Hurry up! Light the coal, come on!
- The audience is protesting! - Get her rolling!
Bunch of animals! Quiet!
To hell with it!
Toto, what's going on?
What the hell is he doing?
Come on, Toto. They're gonna explode!
It's been a half hour!
What can I do?
Where is that son of a jackass? I'll be ruined!
Calm down, calm down.
I'll have you know, just to see this movie...
I left my wife home sick in bed...
and I haven't seen a thing.
If it's not here in ten minutes, give us back our money...
me and everyone else here...
or I'll wreck the place with this cane!
Calm down! Calm down and let me talk.
Tell you what. I'll show part one over again.
Quiet, quiet!
I've seen the whole movie. I'll tell you the plot.
Boccia, what happened?
- What are you doing? - I'm in heaven.
Get out of here!
Scram!
It feels so good!
What's the idea? Watch the screen, you perverts!
Don't touch.
I told you: It doesn't catch fire.
Progress always comes too late.
Workers...
That's right.
Now you've got it.
Come on, take it easy.
Don't be afraid.
Do I really have to squeeze a lemon on it if it bleeds?
Lemon?
Whoever told you such bullshit?
That's right, keep going.
That's right. See?
It's not dangerous, see?
That's right, keep going.
Now you're really a man.
What am I saying? You're not a man, you're a bull!
She's new.
Not bad.
She looks nice.
Her father's the bank manager. Pride, pomp and circumstance.
Jerks off with his shirt to keep his hands clean.
Go, man, go!
Excuse me.
You dropped this.
Oh, thanks.
I didn't even notice.
My name's Salvatore. What's yours?
Elena. My name's Elena.
I wanted to tell you, well, the other day at the station...
It's Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, right, Toto?
Yes, that's right.
I know that film by heart.
While I was showing it for the first time in 1940, my first wife died.
They kept it from me all day, to keep the theater open.
I found out after the last show.
I lost my mind.
It's the kind of thing you never forget.
The small projector? Your footage?
What do you see?
Slaughterhouse workers butchering a calf.
Blood all over the floor, like a lake.
Another calf passes over the lake...
on his way to being slaughtered.
Why'd you stop? What do we see?
Nothing. We don't see anything. It's all fuzzy.
A woman.
It's a woman.
Yes, a girl I saw at the station.
What's she like?
She's very nice.
My age, slim, long brown hair.
Big blue eyes, honest and direct.
A little beauty mark on her lip.
Very small. You only see it up close.
When she smiles, you feel like... I don't know.
Love.
I know how it is. The blue-eyed ones are the worst.
No matter what you do, they'll never be your friends.
There's nothing you can do.
The bigger the man, the deeper the footprint.
And if he loves, he suffers, knowing it's a dead-end street.
That's nice, what you just said.
But sad.
I didn't say it. It was John Wayne in The Shepherd of the Hills.
You old pirate!
Hello, Elena.
Why are you running?
Because...
I wanted to tell you...
You remember when we...
Nice day, isn't it?
Yes, really nice.
Excuse me, I have to go. Bye.
What a jerk. What a jerk!
"Nice day, isn't it?"
What an idiot!
You may not believe me...
but I'll play the leading male role in the story of your life.
Sure, I'm no Marlon Brando, but take a good look at me.
Am I really so ugly?
So should I give it another try?
Maybe this time I'll succeed. What do you think?
Hello, I'd like to speak to Elena, please.
- This is she. - Elena, is that you?
- Yes. - I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you.
This is Salvatore. Do you remember me?
Listen, I know I make a fool of myself every time we meet...
but I swear, it's just that you make me shy.
But the truth is I do nothing but think of you.
Yes, Elena, you're my last thought before I fall asleep...
and the first when I wake up. I dream of you every night.
It doesn't sound romantic over the phone, but I care about you...
If you don't stop calling, I'll call the police.
Who's this?
I'm Elena's mother, you idiot!
I'm sorry, ma'am. Please believe me, I didn't know...
Oh, shit!
I told you so.
You thought I was joking.
But take it from me: The blue-eyed ones are the worst.
But why? There must be a way to make her understand.
Don't even try. With feelings, there's nothing to understand...
and no way to explain.
You talk like you made the world!
Toto, calm down. Don't take it out on me.
That's all I need.
- Where'd you go? - Get out of the way!
Toto! Come back here!
I can't walk on my own.
You better watch your mouth!
With all due respect to the Lord...
who made the world in two or three days...
I'd have taken a bit longer...
but in all modesty, I would've done it better.
Like I said: You always have an answer.
Just for you, Toto, I'll tell you a story.
Let's sit down a minute.
These old bones of mine...
Once upon a time...
a king gave a feast...
for the loveliest princesses in the realm.
Now, a soldier who was standing guard...
saw the king's daughter go by.
She was the most beautiful of all...
and he instantly fell in love.
But what is a simple soldier...
next to the daughter of a king?
Well, at last he succeeded in meeting her...
and told her he could no longer live without her.
The princess was so taken by the depth of his feeling...
that she said to the soldier...
"If you can wait...
for 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony...
at the end I shall be yours."
With that, the soldier went and waited one day...
two days, then ten, then twenty.
Each evening the princess looked out...
and he never moved!
In rain, in wind, in snow, he was always there.
Birds shit on his head, bees stung him...
but he didn't budge.
At the end...
of 90 nights...
he had become...
all dry, all white.
Tears streamed from his eyes.
He couldn't hold them back.
He didn't even have the strength to sleep.
All that time, the princess watched him.
At long last it was the 99th night...
and the soldier stood up...
took his chair...
and left.
What? After all that?
After all that.
And don't ask what it means. I don't know.
If you understand it, you tell me.
Alfredo, what is it?
I can't. It's time for Mass.
Father, I need you urgently...
because I have doubts...
terrible doubts tormenting my soul.
Your soul!
Father, I've sinned.
- We can discuss that later. - But who...
Stay there. Don't move.
Just act normal. It's Salvatore.
How'd you get in there?
Alfredo, that's a terrible thing to say.
I know.
But take the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
What about it?
I always wonder: How is it possible?
All hell broke loose.
My mother told my father. How could you mistake her for me?
Forgive me, Elena. I was a real fool.
I had to talk to you.
You're so beautiful, Elena.
That's what I wanted to tell you.
When we meet, I can't say anything right...
because you make me tremble.
I don't know what others do in a case like this.
It's my first time.
But I'm in love with you.
Father, I have sinned.
I absolve you in the name of the Father...
the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Go in peace.
When you smile, you're even prettier.
Salvatore, you're very sweet, and I like you very much...
but I don't love you.
I don't care. I'll wait.
What?
Until you fall in love with me.
Now listen.
Every night after work, I'll come stand outside your house.
And I'll wait. Every night.
When you change your mind, open your window.
That's all. I'll understand.
You understand now?
Yes, I finally see the light.
Next time, don't talk heresy.
You survived the fire in the theater...
but no one can save you from eternal fire!
What's keeping Toto?
The theater's closed by now.
Fifteen seconds to the New Year!
14, 13, 12...
I wouldn't worry. He must be with his friends.
- Let's have a toast. - Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
- To Toto as well. - To Toto!
The movie's over! Turn the lights on!
This is just the test drive.
How'll we get home?
Oh, God, it's my father!
Good evening, Mr. Mendola.
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
The "Teatro della Fiera" in Milan presents Double Your Money...
hosted by Mike Bongiorno.
What do you know? I forgot my lines.
You're kidding me, right?
How can you see this "television" without any film?
- That's the way it works. - With no film?
And if you buy a television set, you can watch it at home.
That may be, but I don't like it.
There's something fishy about it.
- Massa...? - Macinaia.
Massa Macinaia.
It must be close to Massa Carrara.
No. It's near Lucca.
Isn't this a marvelous invention?
But how was I supposed to buy the equipment without a mortgage?
In this day and age, one has to keep up with the times.
It's a new machine called a teleprojector.
What are you going to perform this evening?
The Divine Comedy.
Maybe your father looks down on my job.
Or the fact my family is poor. Is that it?
As soon as school is out, we're going to Tuscany.
If you come up there, we can meet secretly.
I have to work all summer. What am I going to do without you?
Don't worry. I'll write you every day.
I love you. The summer will end, and I'll come back.
"Summer Screenings Will Be Held at the Arena Imperia"
Standing room only!
Get in for free, but pay to get out!
Come on in. The show just started.
Have your tickets ready.
Salvatore, my love...
the days here drag on forever.
I see your name everywhere: In a book, a crossword puzzle...
a newspaper.
You're always before my eyes.
Today, alas, I have bad news.
In October we're moving to Palermo, where I'll go to the university.
So we won't see each other every day.
But don't worry. Whenever I can get away...
I'll come to you at the Paradiso.
I caught an octopus!
There's a letter for you!
One a day. Here you go.
- You making fun of me? - Of course!
I'm blind!
By God's might, by man's actions! Rise up!
When will this rotten summer end?
In a film, it'd already be over.
Fade-out, cut to storm. Wouldn't that be great?
Tell them I am Ulysses!
Elena! But when...
I got back today.
You can't imagine the excuses I made up to come here.
You still can't beat Sophia Loren...
with those long legs and ample breasts.
- Kind of like Lana Turner? - Don Ciccio?
This is for Toto.
- You give it to him. - What is it?
Oh, my God! What am I going to do now?
What did they say?
As a war orphan, I don't fall under the mandatory draft.
But there's nothing to be done. They've made a clerical error.
I leave for Rome on Friday.
They said they'd discharge me after ten days.
- Come. - No, Salvatore. You'd better go.
My father's here.
Good. Finally we can talk. This time I'll make him see reason.
I'm afraid not, Salvatore. He has other plans for me.
Who?
The son of one of his business partners.
Don't look so sad. We'll talk about it later.
Wait for me Thursday at the Paradiso.
I'll be on the 5:00 bus. I love you.
"Thursday"
"Today"
This film is too highbrow for us. One day is more than enough.
Load the reels for tomorrow, ready for the new guy.
All right.
Hey, cheer up!
I'll wait for you. Don't worry.
The job'll still be here.
I'll wait, you hear?
Don't look so gloomy.
Come on, now!
You weren't expecting me, were you?
No, Alfredo. I was coming to help you.
No, you were expecting her.
It's no fun to wait alone.
It's easier if you have company, right?
Would you rather I left?
No, don't go. Listen, I need your help.
How did he talk me into this?
Open up!
Open the door!
I don't like it!
- I'm back. - What took you so long?
- I'm here now. - Where did you go?
Calm down. It's all right. Sit down.
Did she come?
No, no one came.
Radioman Di Vita, 3rd Battalion, 9th Company, sir!
Colonel, I'd like to know when I'll be discharged.
As yet we have received no such order. You may go.
They transferred her father? It can't be!
And no one knows where?
Screw you if you won't tell me! Asshole son of a bitch!
Colonel, I was only supposed to be here for ten days.
It's been almost a year and I haven't been home once.
I demand to be sent home on leave!
Di Vita, get ready. Your discharge came through.