Many movies are themselves love letters to the movies, but none is more moving than this one. Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore poured a lifelong love of the silver screen—specifically romanticizing the projectionist—into Cinema Paradiso, which took the 1988 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. NCMA film curator Laura Boyes, inspired by a recent vacation, screens this classic amid a series of swoons over the Italian landscape and spirit. Seen through the eyes of a child, this film is an homage to—and an example of—cinema's nearly magical power to transform the world into an ideal place. In a more local vein, you can enter a raffle to win dinner for two at Bella Monica when you attend the film. —Chris Vitiello

Price: $5-7