Alfredo's fatherly love for Toto, and Toto's commitment towards the older man.
Toto and Elena's romantic love.
A mother's love for her child.
This film depicts various types of love, but the one that stood out the most for me was the companionate love (Sternberg, 1986, as cited in Ciccarelli & White, 2014) between Toto and his mentor, Alfredo. Although not biologically related, Alfredo grew to love Toto like his own son and was present as a fatherly figure in Toto's formative years. All of the knowledge that Toto had about film when he was a teenager was imparted to him by Alfredo, who had patiently taught him the ins and outs of being a film projectionist; Alfredo also tended to give Toto advice on life, even going so far as to tell him to leave Giancaldo and never to return.
I found myself tearing up at that scene, because I could feel Alfredo's love for Toto - it was so strong that he would rather never see or hear from Toto again than have him live in nostalgia. To not have any form of personal contact with his former student would pain Alfredo greatly - given the depth of his love for Toto - yet he preferred to stay on the sidelines and watch from a distance as Toto's film career flourished, so as not to hold him back from succeeding in life.
Toto also displayed his love and commitment towards his mentor when he rushed into the burning cinema to rescue Alfredo without a thought for his own safety, and afterwards when he helped the now-blind Alfredo around. Intimacy is also a large part of their relationship, as Toto always confided in Alfredo and looked to him for advice when it came to matters of romantic love.
I enjoyed the film a lot more than I thought I would, to be honest. I don't usually watch films like these, so it really was a pleasant surprise to discover that I actually liked it. However, I feel that the ending of the film was left hanging; I suppose that's the beauty of it though, as viewers can then have their own interpretation of it.
My interpretation is that Toto was filled with sadness when the montage first started playing, as he remembers Elena and how short-lived their relationship was. Perhaps he also felt some regret as he has not been able to find true love after all those years, even though he is successful in his field. As the montage continues, his stricken look turns into a smile. I believe that he was recalling the time when he begged Alfredo to give him those censored scenes, and how far he had come since then. He is not only reminded of Alfredo and the number of years that they were not in touch, but also how much passion he has for films, and finally comes to terms with his choices in life.
Reference
Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2014). Psychology
(3rd ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
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