CinemaParadiso

=
//Click the lower left corner of each black box to play each film clip. These clips are posted temporarily for educational purposes and are incapable of being downloaded on to a personal computer for permanent use.//====== =WRITING PROMPT= = =

=
At first, Toto is mesmerized by the magic of movies. He wants Alfredo to save all of the kissing scenes cut from the Paradiso's movies as demanded by the local church. Alfredo promises to give the film negatives only if Toto leaves the projection booth (figuratively and literally) for good. =====

=
Alfredo teaches Toto how to woo the woman of his dreams... and suggests Toto to leave her, and their small town, to pursue bigger hopes and possibilities. Alfredo knows Toto has the potential to become a filmmaker and not just a prisoner in the Paradiso's projection booth. Alfredo suggests Toto will never find life in so narrow-minded a place.=====

=
Toto receives a postmortem gift from Alfredo’s widow: a film reel containing all of those cut-out kisses, a symbol of all the love and potential Toto remains free to discover as a result of leaving his native town. =====

= =

=

 * //In a three-paragraph composition, reflect on your responses to our career mapping exercises and short-essay questions regarding childhood dreams and the adults who help inspire them. Compare and contrast your childhood dreams and Toto’s childhood dreams, and your mentor(s) to Alfredo. How does “your Alfredo” suggest you shoot for the moon? If you miss, how will your mentor's guidance make you feel as if you still landed among the stars? In the film, the cut-out kisses represent a small community’s narrow-mindedness which Alfredo knows Toto must overcome. Symbolically, what are the cut-out kisses in your life and how does or might your mentor(s) help you rediscover them? How will you overcome the odds, as Toto did, as so to meet (if not exceed) what you percieve to be your full potential?//**=====