“Not too long ago I went to see a movie. I was not feeling like seeing a film about the Holocaust, not wanting to think too hard, and especially not wanting to read Italian subtitles (I did not know that you don’t notice subtitles after ten minutes). You see, I was tired. School was so intense, all my friends had flaked and I was feeling vulnerable. All I wanted was a couple of hours off, a good laugh, dinner and a simple evening at the movies. So obviously I didn’t want to love the film “Life is Beautiful” but Italian writer, director and actor Roberto Benigni gave me no choice. “Life is Beautiful” is truly a magical film.
This film is set in the madness of World War II in Italy. Roberto Benigni, our star/director, plays Guido, a foolish, loving, clever and life-embracing Jewish waiter-to-be. Benigni’s physical comedy has you falling out of your seat, much like his real-life wife and co-star Nicholetta Braschi falls from the sky into his arms. When we first meet Nicholetta’s character, Dora, Guido’s car has broken down in the country and he wanders onto a nearby farm. He is standing next to the barn and hears a scream. He looks up and Dora falls into his arms.
Benigni’s physical comedy is illustrative of this man’s power to make life beautiful, which is a recurrent theme throughout this film. In the first half of the film, Guido’s love of life through humor enables him to win over Dora. After Guido finally woos Dora and rides away with her into the night, the movie moves forward six years. Guido and Dora are now married and have a beautiful son Giosué (an awesome performance by Giorgio Cantarini). Germans have occupied Italy. Guido and Giosué are sent to a concentration camp on Giosué’s birthday. His wife, who is not rounded up because she is a gentile, bravely insists on going as well.
While in the concentration camp, Guido and Giosué are separated from Dora. Guido is determined to protect his son from the reality of what is going on in the camp and does so by saying that it is all a game to win a genuine tank. The rules to this competition include hiding during the day, never being seen by the guards, not complaining when you are hungry and so on. Guido, in his funny way, also insures that he frequently contacts his “principesa” (Italian for princess) so she might know that they are all right.
Nothing is funny about the Holocaust, but perhaps it’s the laughter from Guido’s actions which makes the viewer so vulnerable, so unprepared and so raw. Some have taken issue with this director’s treatment of the Holocaust, suggesting that it trivializes this horrible event. Nothing could be further from the truth. While “Life is Beautiful” does not focus on the horrors of the concentration camp, it hardly ignores them either. Many horrible things that occurred in concentration camps are in this film: elderly and children prisoners are murdered in gas chambers and their bodies are cremated.
“Life is Beautiful” has recently been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and for the first time in Oscar history Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Picture. I can think of no better way to reward these talented actors and this talented writer/director.
“Life is Beautiful” is about the transcendence of parents’ love, and the power of a simple man making life beautiful for his family in an ugly world. I loved “Life is Beautiful.” This was a truly wonderful and heartbreaking story.”
