Cinema Paradiso - 7

I sort of remember seeing this film about 10 years ago, but I forgot how good this film really is (I may have also been annoyed by the subtitles, I only recently learned how to read:-). There are two versions of the film, I watched the original version first, and then saw the alternate ending that the new version has. I would only give the new version a 6, while I think the original version is a lot better and more coherent. The story is a flash back of an Italian filmmaker's (Salvatore, or Toto for short) youth after the news that his mentor and childhood friend Alfredo has died. The story is really about the relationship of Toto to his mentor and his growing up and learning. In the end, Toto realizes how wise Alfredo was and how much he was loved by him. In the new version the romance story takes over the plot and is a major theme which actually over shadows this other story which changes the meaning of the film. A great film about the power of the past and the feeling that comes from memory and remembrance.