The Italian film offers a nostalgic look at films and the effect they have on a young boy who grows up in and around the title village movie theater. The comedy-drama is based on the life and times of screenwriter/director Giuseppe Tornatore. Set in an Sicilian village, Salvatore finds himself enchanted by the flickering images at the Cinema Paradiso, yearning for the secret of the cinema's magic. When the projectionist, Alfredo, agrees to reveal the mysteries of moviemaking, a deep friendship is born. The day comes for Salvatore to leave the village and pursue his dream of making movies of his own. Thirty years later he receives a message that beckons him back home to a secret and beautiful discovery that awaits him. The film was nominated in the Best Foreign Film category in the 1989 Academy Awards; composer Ennio Morricone won for Best Original Score. R (some sexuality, language