By Shira Tydings Cold Spring Harbor High School New York, United States
Most movies dealing with the Holocaust have accentuated the pain, suffering, and tragedy. In Roberto Benigni's recent film, Life Is Beautiful, however, the concept of family love is the main theme. Although some critics have scorned the movie because of its comic levity, I found the humor refreshing rather than inappropriate. Life Is Beautiful begins in Italy in 1939. Guido,the main character played by Benigni, is a comedian, constantly joking with friends and strangers. As the movie progresses, we meet Dora, played by Nicoletta Braschi, with whom Guido immediately falls in love. Guido, after the initial meeting, suddenly notices Dora more than ever, and he begins to fall in love. Although he encounters funny obstacles along the way, Guido eventually wins the heart of "his princess," Dora. Guido is a Jew, while Dora is not. Their love, however, overcomes the religious differences, and life seems to go on. But this is 1939, and the rise of Mussolini and Hitler causes antisemitism, in Italy, to gain strength. Now a father, Guido must face his religious label, and he works to protect his son, Joshua, from the discrimination. Unfortunately, Guido and Joshua become victims of the Italian fascist rule. The two, along with other Italian Jews, are deported to a concentration camp. Although she is not Jewish and is not on the deportation list, Dora insists on accompanying her husband and son. When they arrive at the camp, Guido and Joshua are separated from Dora. Guido tries to protect Joshua and secretly slips Joshua into the men's barracks. There, Guido concocts a story for Joshua which masks the horrors of the concentration camp and the predicament they face. Guido equates the challenge of survival to a game. This game helps both Joshua and Guido forget about their troubles. While I won't disclose the ending of the movie, I will say that I was deeply moved. The final minutes successfully juxtaposed the tragedy of the Holocaust with the happiness of life. Before viewing the movie, I was suspicious of the mixture of humor and disaster. I, like others, never found anything funny about the Holocaust. Yet I deeply enjoyed Life Is Beautiful mostly because of the humor. Benigni is a master of comedy on the screen. He brings a comic spin to his problems, but he remains somber when it is appropriate. The comedy Benigni brings into the film allows the viewer to relate more to the characters. By seeing Benigni's antics, it is not surprising that Dora would find him charming. Benigni's survival story would intrigue any little boy. He appeals to all audiences. Life Is Beautiful is a wonderfully different movie about the Holocaust. I highly recommend this movie. As Stephen Farber of Movieline said, "Life Is Beautiful strikes a delicate balance between whimsy and suspense." I believe that this whimsy and suspense go straight to the heart.
Life Is Beautiful is an Italian film starring Roberto Benigni, Sergio Bustric, Nicoletta Braschi, and Giorgio Cantarini. Although the movie is in Italian, it is subtitled. This film has won several notable awards in Cannes and Jerusalem. Roberto Benigni portrays Guido, an Italian Jew who, with his friend, is traveling through the beautiful Italian countryside to a small town as the film begins. The movie starts as a comedy, with Guido and his friend having various amusing experiences and interactions with different people. A more somber turn is taken by the film as one sees Fascist troops marching through Arezzo,the town, and the antisemitism experienced by the Jews becomes prominent. Eventually, Guido, his new wife, and young son find themselves in a Nazi death camp. Benigni gives a brilliant performance, inventing a game such that his son believes that all of his experiences in the death camp are a result of his participation. The son is told by his father that the Germans will award a prize to the winner of the "game." It is striking that the boy, seeing his father carry heavy anvils and nearly collapsing, is told by his father that through this, more points will be gained. While this is all occurring, Guido meets a German doctor who had been his friend before the Holocaust began and, following this, had become a Nazi. He hopes that this man will help him and his son, but it is sad to see that the doctor is indifferent to the pain and suffering of the Jews. He uses Guido simply for his own benefit, depicting the mentality and cruelty of the Nazis. Guido's wife, an non-Jew who has voluntarily accompanied her husband and son to the death camp, suffers every day with her quiet strength, hoping not to find her son's clothing among that of the murdered. The fight of father, mother, and son to triumph over the forces of evil is a tribute to the Jews killed during the Holocaust. Life Is Beautiful provides one with a window into the lives and personalities of those experiencing the Holocaust. Although the director introduces his story as a "fable," the film reveals the tremendous bravery of the Jews and also the cold-hearted ruthlessness of the Nazis. Overall, Life Is Beautiful is an excellent film. Through humor, the film shows us the pain and horror of the Holocaust.
Life Is Beautiful is an excellent title for this wonderful, gut-wrenching movie. You watch as a man "stumbles" through life, marriage, and a concentration camp. From the hilarious opening to its "dam-breaking" ending, this film takes the viewer on an incredible ride. The film was written and directed by acclaimed Italian director Roberto Benigni and co-written by Vincenzo Cerami. It also starts Mr. Benigni as Guido, who lives in the small Tuscan town of Arezzo in the year 1939. Guido's love interest Dora is played by Nicoletta Braschi (Benigni's real wife). She is a beautiful young school teacher who is also being courted by the leader of the growing Fascist party. This same man attempts to block the opening of Guido's bookstore and never forgives Guido for "stealing Dora." With Dora as his wife and his son Joshua by his side, Guido doesn't notice the growing influence of the Nazi party in his town. His incredible lust for life and love of people blind him. Guido and his young son are eventually deported, and true to her vows, Dora, who is not Jewish, insists on being deported with her family on the same train transport. In the camp, prisoners are separated by gender, and all tangible memories of the happy life they had are stripped immediately. It is here where Mr. Benigni shows his genius. His character Guido creates a story and risks his own life many times to shield his son from the truth, rather than the horror that is the truth. Life Is Beautiful won the 1998 Cannes Grand Jury Prize, and won the Jerusalem Festival's Best Jewish Experience Award. This subtitled film is not a Jewish movie; it is a movie that attempts to make the Holocaust personal to all of us in all of the world today. See it; it will make you laugh and cry, and it will make you love and hate, but most of all, it will make you understand.