In a small Sicilian town an elderly woman is calling her son, who she hasn't seen for 30 years. In Rome a successful film director returns home late to find a message from his mother - Alfredo is dead. He is unable to sleep as he returns to his childhood and remembers what Alfredo meant to his life.
A few years after the end of the war, Italy is still recovering from the damage. In the village the cinema is a vital community asset, albeit dictated to by the censorius local priest. Projectionist Alfredo walks the line between religious complaince and cummunity approval. He is also the hero of mischevious 8 year old Toto, and an unlikekly friendship forms between the pair that will seal the bond between the child and the film industry he will make his life. In time they will each find the other owing them a huge debt, but when the time comes for Toto to leave in search of a new life, it is Alfredo who gives him the impetus to go, and the advice never to return.
So Toto, once again known by his given name of Salvatore, only returns to see his mentor buried, and is caught up in the memories it forces upon him. Not just of his roots in film, but of his first love affair, which has similarly dominated his life.
CP is recognised as a classic, and rightly so. The script is frequently hilarious, but there is genine emotion and pathos in the relationship between the pair behind the projector, and so much life in a community that is full of characters. It has been criticised as being overly sentimental and schmaltzy, and that's true. Yet it feels appropriate for a film that plays so heavily on the golden age of schmaltz from Hollywood, and is as much a tribute to that period of cinema as it is about the vivid relationships. It was a delight to see again.
Final word must go to the venue, as it too was a delight to see again. After several years boarded up the Filmhouse is back. The foyer and cafe still look a bit bare, but that will change. There's a fourth screen now. And Screen 1, where CP was showing, has much imporved seating and comfort. The Filmhouse is returning as one of the most important cultural centres in the city.