Agnese and Stefano are profoundly different. She is only seventeen, lives with her mother (a harsh but devoted woman and a regular church-goer) and is about to take a vow of chastity to last until marriage. He is a 25 year old man, with a violent temper and a difficult past behind, who works as a warden in a car park that borders with a gypsy camp. Their unexpected meeting engenders a sentiment of purity, made of little stolen moments and mutual help. But when they make love for the first time, Agnese s illusion of purity is shattered. She experiences a deep sense of betrayal towards her ideals, which leads her to take an extreme decision in the hope of erasing her sin.
A boy who grew up in a native Sicilian Village returns home as a famous director after receiving news about the death of an old friend. Told in a flashback, Salvatore reminiscences about his childhood and his relationship with Alfredo, a projectionist at Cinema Paradiso. Under the fatherly influence of Alfredo, Salvatore fell in love with film making, with the duo spending many hours discussing about films and Alfredo painstakingly teaching Salvatore the skills that became a stepping stone for the young boy into the world of film making. The film brings the audience through the changes in cinema and the dying trade of traditional film making, editing and screening. It also explores a young boy's dream of leaving his little town to foray into the world outside.