Jordan (Marcello Mastroianni) runs a struggling cinema called Splendor in a small town in Italy. Low ticket sales mean that the cinema is no longer a viable business, and Jordan reflects back on his experiences running Splendor, from his arrival in the town as a child with his father. He meets French showgirl Chantal (Marina Vlady) at one of her performances, and she comes to work for him as an usher. Cinephile Luigi (Massimo Troisi) repeatedly attends screenings of ''Il Sorpasso'' in order to see Chantal, with whom he is besotted, and after a brief fling he begins working for Jordan as the projectionist. Attendance at the cinema decreases with the rise of television and Jordan considers bringing in strippers to try and solve his financial problems. Throughout, we see clips of the films shown at the cinema: ''Metropolis (1927 film)'', ''It’s a Wonderful Life'', ''La Grande Guerra'', ''Amarcord'', amongst others.