Jacques Perrin’s natural presence suits young romantics and adults looking back. We value his restraint in Cinema Paradiso, though the film’s slower passages make us miss the liveliness of its childhood scenes.
Fi1m perspective
In Cinema Paradiso (1988), Totò grows older and the film grows quieter with him. Jacques Perrin plays the adult Salvatore with a reserve that makes the change feel natural, even after Salvatore Cascio’s unruly childhood performance. We like the casting more than we like the slower pace that comes with it. Perrin gives Giuseppe Tornatore the reflective presence these scenes need, and cannot be blamed for how long they last.
The younger Perrin was often a romantic or an idealist. He became established in French and Italian cinema in the early 1960s, including through his work with Valerio Zurlini. In Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), he plays Maxence opposite Catherine Deneuve. His natural presence suits the romantic part without needing much emphasis. It is worth keeping that young performer in mind rather than treating the later, reflective roles as all he could do.
Mario Morra’s editing makes the changes from Cascio to Marco Leonardi and then Perrin easy to follow, doing useful work without drawing attention to itself. The trouble is what happens to the pace once childhood recedes. We missed Cascio’s mischief because his exchanges with Philippe Noiret’s Alfredo have a life that the romantic passages never quite match. Leonardi and Perrin suit those more reflective passages, but the film occasionally asks their composure to sustain scenes that need shortening.
Acting eventually became only part of the work. Perrin produced and played a photojournalist in Costa-Gavras’s Z (1969), then increasingly concentrated on production and documentaries, co-directing and narrating Winged Migration (2001). The Chorus (2004), which he also produced, gave him the role of adult narrator Pierre Morhange. Start with Cinema Paradiso for the actor, then go back to Demy before deciding that Perrin was always the thoughtful older man.
Biography
Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet) was a French actor, producer and filmmaker. He made his screen debut as a child and trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique in Paris. He was first noticed by Italian director Valerio Zurlini, who cast him in leading roles including La Ragazza con la valigia (1961).
Perrin appeared in numerous French and Italian films. He is known for roles in The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), Z (1969), Donkey Skin (1970), Cinema Paradiso (1988) as the adult Salvatore 'Totò' Di Vita, Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) and The Chorus (2004). He also produced and narrated nature documentaries such as Microcosmos (1996) and Winged Migration (2001). Perrin died in Paris on 21 April 2022.
