Stills from Bombón: The Dog and (below) Cinema Paradiso

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 20: Film Society of Bhubaneswar (FSB) screened this year’s final selection of movies for cine enthusiasts in the city.

It screened an Argentine and Italian film on Thursday evening at Jayadev Bhavan auditorium as part of its monthly screenings.

Life is no bed of roses for 52-year-old Coco played by Juan Villegas in the Argentine film. The gas station attendant in Patagonia finds himself jobless after having put in 20 years of service. He first tries to survive by selling knives of his own brand, but his business tanks and he fails to find another job.

But a very interesting turn of events gifts him an opportunity to resurrect his finances. After helping a stranger, he gets rewarded in the form of a wonderfully bred Argentine watchdog.

Coco decides to take part in dog shows. Owing to his inexperience in the filed, Coco now looks for an expert that comes in shape of Walter (Walter Donado), a happy-go-lucky dog trainer.

The trio then goes ahead seeking good fortunes. Carlos Sorín had directed the 100-odd minute movie — Bombón: The Dog — that was released in 2004 and had received much critical acclaim.

The second screening of the evening, that happened to be the last FSB screening this year, was a memorable celebration of love of cinema and life. The film Cinema Paradiso begins with Salvatore Di Vita, a famous director learning that somebody named Alfredo has died in his village. Salvatore, who had not visited his village of Giancaldo, Sicily, for 30 years, goes down the memory lane.

In the film, he remembers how he had discovered his love for films at the movie house named Cinema Paradiso where he had befriended projectionist, Alfredo, who used to allow him to watch movies from the projection booth. Though Alfredo did not like Salvatore alias Toto initially, he taught him to operate the film projector, later.

As the film progresses, a terrible accident turns Alfredo blind, Toto loses his first love Elena and later leaves the place on Alfredo’s insistence. Toto returns only to attend the funeral of his mentor. Giuseppe Tornatore had directed the emotionally stirring film.

“Both the films are based on the broad subject of life. While one is about working for a better future, the other deals with making peace with your past,” said Deep Panda, a film enthusiast.