Salvatore’s message of love falls on the deaf ears of Elena's mother, with humiliating consequences.   A nostalgia-drenched look at a young boy's coming-of-age in postwar Italy, and his fascination with a small, local cinema. "Alfredo is dying." Those words jolt Salvatore, a successful filmmaker, into contemplating his childhood and the hours he spent in the projection booth of his beloved Cinema Paradiso. Alfredo, owner of the moviehouse, befriended and encouraged Salvatore, finally convincing him to leave their village to pursue his dreams of becoming a director. But as Salvatore thinks back on his youthful romances, and his innocent love of movies, he comes to realize that perhaps his success has come at a very high price.