Required Entry #8: Cinema Paradiso

"Once upon a time, a king gave a feast. And there came the most beautiful princesses of the realm. Now, a soldier, who was standing guard, saw the king's daughter go by. She was the most beautiful one, and he immediately fell in love with her. But what could a poor soldier do when it came to the daughter of the king? Well, finally, one day, he managed to meet her, and he told her that he could no longer live without her. The princess was so impressed by his strong feelings that she said to the soldier: "If you can wait 100 days and 100 nights under my balcony, then at the end of it, I shall be yours." Damn! The soldier immediately went there and waited one day. And two days. And ten. And then twenty. And every evening, the princess looked out of her window, but he never moved. During rain, during wind, during snow, he was always there. The bird shat on his head, and the bees stung him, but he didn't budge. After ninety nights, he had become all dried up, all white, and the tears streamed from his eyes. He couldn't hold them back. He no longer had the strength to sleep. All that time, the princess watched him. And on the 99th night, the soldier stood up, took his chair, and went away."

 

At first, I really thought that the soldier was such a fool to sacrifice for so long and yet, give up just before just before its about to end. But then at the later part of the movie, the conclusion is: In one more night, the princess would have been his. But she also could not possibly have kept her promise and it would be terrible. In that way, at least for 99 days, he was living under the illusion that she was there, waiting for him. I think that this is also connected to the reason behind the ending of the story where a montage of cinematic kisses was shown and Elena didn't have a proper closure from the life of the protagonist. It's perhaps the greatest montage of motion picture kisses ever assembled, and, as Salvatore watches it, tears come to his eyes. The deluge of concentrated ardor acts as a forceful reminder of the simple-yet-profound passion that has been absent from his life since he lost touch with his one true love, Elena. Truly, there's a weird pleasure on loving someone who doesn't love you back.