Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Wonderful fable plenty of amazing fantasy, lively comedy and sad tragedy . This is a poignant and moving fable about a sacrifice to save a son and a wife . It's an unforgettable story formed by two halves that proves imagination, family and love conquer all ; as Benigni's focus is on the love between daddy , mummy and son . The first part results to be an Italian comedy style , the second is horror along with humor . It concerns upon Guido (Roberto Benigni, a magnificent rubber-faced funny man), a Jewish man who has a wonderful romance with the help of his humour, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Nazi death camp . He's a madcap romantic man and women wish him . But he falls in love with Dora (Benigni's real-life sweetie Nicoletta Braschi). Every day Guido dreams of marrying her , under Nicola Piovani score . When the Second World War spontaneously breaks out , he and his family is imprisoned at concentration camp . Guido is determined to save his lover and son (Cantarini) from dangers around them . His effort sometimes is pure fantasy , though with ruse he pull off more impetus to keep his son and accomplishes feats no man could realistically execute . Guido fabricates an elaborated game to convince his child that the whole ordeal is an endurance proof to be won with prizes forthcoming , as it turns out to be a special contest to win a tank.

This is a story about love , war and sacrifice , well starred and directed by Roberto Benigni who develops a fire-line between comedy and tragedy . Inventive gags and wacky humor are splendidly proceeded . At first consideration , the theme of a feel-good holocaust comedy war was a non-sense . However , Benigni doesn't describe a holocaust film but rather a tale of endurance of family love . Benigni tirelessly maintains the humorous ingenuity, even as the horror war escalates. Actor and director Benigni shapes simultaneously haunting and hilarious comedy out of the tragedy of Nazi concentration camp . In a especially humorous scene , Guido translates a guard's barking at the inmates as furthers clarification of the rules of game . The picture is divided into two parts , the first half deals with an entertaining boy-meets-girl tale , a light-weight comedy in which Guido relentlessly pursues Dora ; the second half shifts and depicts the horrors of the concentration camps . Good support cast formed by notorious secondaries as the Spanish Marisa Paredes , Lidia Alfonsi and Horst Buchhold as a Nazi doctor . The film displays an emotive musical score by Nicola Piovani, who deservedly had Oscar winner . Furthermore , it won Academy Award to Foreign film and of course to Benigni ; Roberto Benigni's Oscar for best actor marked only the second time that an actor had directed himself in an Academy Award winning performance , the other was Laurence Olivier for Hamlet . Colorful and glamorous cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli . Effective and appropriate production design by the veteran Danilo Donati . The motion picture was marvelously directed by Benigni. He's a good comedy director (Monster, Johnny Toothpick, Little devil) with some flop (Pinoccio) and usual actor for Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and cigarettes, Night of Earth, Down by law). Rating : Better than average . Well worth seeing .

Fmovies: I typically don't care much for sub-titled movies. Foreign films to me are slow and about nothing. So I naturally went to see Life is Beautiful with a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to hate it. I wanted it to be just another movie that Hollywood was praising to show that they were an intelligent bunch of people. Oh boy was I in for the surprise of my life. Not only is this film good, I honestly believe that it was the second best film of 98, next to Saving Private Ryan. The mere fact that Shakespeare in Love won best picture over not only Ryan but over this, is a joke. It's actually funny.

Benigni did everything in this film. He wrote, produced, directed and probably swept the floors at night. There is that much raw energy in this film. There really is. For someone to have that kind of vision is truly incredible. And not only is the film a terrific cinematic experience because of the importance and seriousness of the subject matter, but it is one of the funnier films I've ever seen. When Roberto is translating the German soldiers insructions to his son so that he isn't scared, it is at that moment that you realize you are under his spell. He's got you and no matter how much sceptisism you may have about the film you know you're witnessing a classic in every sense of the word.

I loved this film. Loved everything about it and I am so glad that I got to see it and cheer Benigni at the Oscars. He certainly deserved his best actor award and he should have gotten more.

Life Is Beautiful takes the premise that love and hope can survive the most trying of conditions, in this case a Nazi concentration camp. Most everyone knows this very popular and honored film, so I won't belabor the story. Briefly, in my humble opinion, this film deserves all the accolades it's been awarded. A near perfect film, my only gripe is that Mr. Benigni's performance could have been more understated, especially the half of the film that's set in the concentration camp. But this is only a slight complaint. For a joyful, life-affirming movie, Life Is Beautiful is tops. But be forewarned, as its principal backdrop of anti-Semitism and Nazi murder, it is not a very happy movie.

Life Is Beautiful fmovies. I have never in my life seen a movie that so truly symbolizes its name and its message. Roberto Benigni - 'The Italian Treasure House' has probably given to his viewers his best. The story, the performances, the entire theme of a person performing his duties as a husband, as a father is very 'moving' and inspiring. 'Life is beautiful' as the name goes is about a Jewish man, who falls in love with a non-Jewish lady, marries her, has a kid and who is then taken as a prisoner in a concentration camp along with his wife and kid. But the way he protects his kid from the horrors of the genocide, how he always tries to find ways to make his wife and kid smile and laugh, is what makes the movie, a MUST SEE.

It is certainly one of the best movies that I have seen.

The first time I saw the movie was when I was about seventeen or so, and I never forgot it. The incredibly human characters (such as the doctor who loved riddles), the fantastic script-writing, the amazing acting, and of course the heartwarming story. This movie proves once and for all how strong we are, as humans, that in the face of adversity we can make the best of things. There is so much love in the characters; Dora's love for her husband Guido is boundless, as well as Guido's love for his son. Sure, it's a slightly unrealistic movie, but hey, aren't they all a little unrealistic? I've also seen people review this movie and say that it made light of the Holocaust, which was of course a dark point in history. I don't think so; I think that it's only delicately handled, and because of that, the movie is one that a person can watch in one sitting without being thoroughly disgusted by mankind. I would say that those who think this movie is too "light" are cynical and bitter. The whole point to the movie is to show what love is capable of, and to provide encouragement and perhaps guidance. This movie changed my life from the first time I watched it. I came away with this feeling that no matter what I have to face in life, that I can overcome it. This is a movie that I would recommend to anyone over the age of eleven. The acting is superb (though Roberto Benigni is a little over-the-top, LOL), the story heartwarming and easy to understand. It's excellent!

Roberto Benigni's Vita e bella, is in many ways similar to Chaplin's Great Dictator. Both are comic attacks on fascism, but the former's is the more successful. Benigni initially accesses the emotions of his audience through simple comedy, which is a pleasant mix of Keaton and Chaplin. Romance ensues with his real life wife Nicoletta Braschi. The first half of this film has been seen by various critics as being inferior to the second, but this is certainly not the case. In the first section we follow the delightful romance that will eventually lead to marriage and the creation of the wonderful Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini).

It is the first half where the audience can laugh the loudest and delight at the immense comedy talent of Benigni. Unlike so many films nowadays there is nothing crude or course, his is simple innocent humour, which is all the more effective. The way he ties together little strand in the film to create comedy elements shows a great writing ability, and a mastery of timing when it comes to their execution on screen. Various incidents related to the rise of anti-semitism and fascism in Italy show that there are sinister forces at work which come to the fore in the second segment.

Guido (Benigni) moves events on from Tuscany in 1939 to the last year of the war in a concentration camp. In this period he and Dora (Braschi) have had their son Giosue (Cantanarini). The five year old greatly reminds me of Toto in Cinema Paradiso, and plays an equally important role in his prospective film (though in Paradiso's case it is at the beginning of the movie). The relationship between the two is very similar to that of Jackie Coogan and Charlie Chaplin (though Benigni, unlike Chaplin, keeps the best of the comedy moments). Guido attempts to keep from the boy the horrors of what is going on, and this eventually manifests itself as a game where the aim is to score 100 points, with the winner winning a real tank (which, of course appeals to the young boy). Comic moments are still present, that involving Guido's translation of the rules of the camp is particularly notable, but it becomes somewhat more difficult to laugh when we consider the gravity of what is going on.

The emphasis begins shifts, and we realise that this is a film about human spirit above all else. Guido not only appeals to the audience due to his comedy and sheer pleasantness, but also in the way that he loves his family and the measures that he will go to to protect them.

This is certainly no Schindler's List, but it never pretends to be. Occasionally events seem a little contrived, but this does seem to work in the film's favour. However, this film avoids the tendency of Hollywood to go far over the top in emotional and credibility terms.

Benigni shines like a lantern throughout the picture, showing that he is a talent, not only in comedy terms, that far outshines his peers. Cantanari is a delight, and Braschi also plays her part well. There is even an appearance by The Magnificent Seven's Horst Buchholz as Doctor Lessing, a man who events change for the worse.

Please don't let the fact that it, to all but the Italians, is a foreign language film. The language itself adds a beauty of form to the film, much as it did in the case of Il Postino. This has to be a certainty for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, though something tells me that it will be overlooked for other awards as it is Italian and not a mainstream English language picture.

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