Life is Beautiful
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Movie Reviews of Life is Beautiful
Movie Review: All I Can Say is La Vita Bella
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is two fantasies in one. The first half of the film is a romantic comedy. Guido's (Roberto Begnini) car breaks down and he meets Dora (Nicoletta Braschi) at her family farm. For him it's love at first sight but he will never see his "princi pessa" again. He continues to Rome to work for his uncle as a waiter. And who does he run into, Dora. He sees Dora again at the restaurant. The only problem is it's her engagement party. This does not deter Guido and he pursues her and eventually wins her love.
Five year passes and Guido and Dora are deliriously happy and they have a son. The only problem is WWII and Italy's alliance with Germany. Fascism and anti-Semitism are in full swing. Guido does everything to protect his son from this. But eventually, it becomes too real and he and his son are deported to a concentration camp. Dora, who is Catholic, will not let her two men go alone and she goes with them. (This is where I have a small issue, as she is Catholic, the boy would have been raised Catholic and I don't think the church would have let the boy be deported).
They arrive at the camp and the Guido and his son are separated from Dora. Guido is warned not the let the boy leave the barracks. Guido tells the boy that this is a game and tells him the rules, including that the winner gets a tank (This is a hilarious scene.) Guido does everything to shield the boy from the reality. Eventually, the Americans liberate the camp.
The one thing that I hated about the film was the ending but this film cannot have a truly satisfying ending. Therefore, you have to live with the ending.
As I stated at the beginning, this is a fantasy. The second half of the film could never happen but this is a film about love and you must look at the film from this point of view. The moral is that with love anything can be accomplished and that is why Life is Beautiful. This is a great film and must be seen by everyone.
Note: I have only seen the subtitled version and have been told that the dubbed is not as good but still is excellent.
DVD EXTRA: Making Life Beautiful - A 23 minute making of featurette with interviews with stars Roberto Begnini and Nicoletta Braschi and actors Walter Matthau (costar of Little Devil) and Michael Keaton. It also includes a bio on Begnini.
The only thing they missed was his wonderful Oscar acceptance speech!
Movie Review: One Unique Story - A Brief Rebuttal To Critics
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought this was a touching and wonderfully creative film. Part comedy, part tragedy, "Life Is Beautiful" is a fictional tale that tackles an incredibly difficult subject, but does so primarily through omission.
Some reviewers criticize this movie as little more than "garbage" or even as "obscene" because it does not depict the raw horrors of the Holocaust. While I disagree with the negative assessments, this much is true: When you watch this film, you will not see the stark, brutal hell endured by the victims of Nazi evil - but that is precisely the point of this particular story. The horrors are left out by design.
"Life Is Beautiful" relates the story of Guido and his family through the eyes of his innocent young son, Joshua. It is assumed that we - the viewers - are already aware of what happened in that place and time. We know what the Nazis were doing; we know about the atrocities they committed and the plans they had for the Jewish people. But the point of the film is that Joshua never does!
In the movie, Guido protects his son by disguising - and yes, as an earlier reviewer wrote, he "sugar coats" - the terrible things they encounter while in Nazi hands. Through Guido's efforts, deportation becomes a "trip" for young Joshua, and internment in the camp becomes a "game". None of these things is ever a game for Guido or the other adults in the film, but they are always seen that way by the child.
It is precisely the lack of horror in Joshua's experience that allows him to cope and, ultimately, to survive with his innocence in tact - an outcome made possible only through the terrific ingenuity of his loving and fiercely protective father. The closing lines of the film, spoken by Joshua, sum it up very nicely: "This is my story. This is the sacrifice my father made. This was his gift to me."
"Life Is Beautiful" is a fictional tale with a Holocaust theme, but it is not all-encompassing. It does not seek to detail every horror of the Holocaust; it is not a historical survey of the event and does not pretend to be an educational resource. Not every Holocaust story can relate every aspect or every detail of what happened, but - like this one - not all are intended to.
I recommend this film to everyone, but urge that viewers take it for what it is: one unique story from one unique perspective.
Movie Review: Words to previous reviewers!
Summary: 5 Stars
I own and have watched this movie many times. I came on here to look at some peoples views and comments about Life Is Beautiful. I was troubled a with couple reviews. The movie is terrific, about an hour into it (after seeing it already and knowing what comes next) my heart always seems troubled. The movie is going along so happily, and the joy on Roberto and Nicoletta's (what a beautiful name) faces excite you. And then the plot thickens to the end. Even during the troubling (I guess you can say sad parts) of the movie you still feel good for some reason. There are no words to encourage someone to see this movie, you just simply should. There is a pretty good reason this movie won so many international awards (I want to say 60+, but it could be 30). Watch this movie in peace and pay attention (to the color, screenplay...well everything). Just pay attention. I found the movie very creative. It is unlike other movies dealing with this topic in that it is very non-violent, and more about a man trying to protect and live life with his family as it was and much more. Now for the comments I have about other peoples comments... First, I would recommend (if you are going to buy it) buying a DVD player, and purchasing this on DVD. Second, WATCH THIS MOVIE IN ITALIAN with subtitles. Do NOT watch this dubbed! You will never get the true feeling Roberto and the others (well especially Roberto) throw at you. I guess you can compare it to Listening to your 12 year old son/daughter play Beethoven, instead of Beethoven playing Beethoven! Get my point? After that if you must, watch it again in the "boring" dubbed version. But it will truly not be the same. Your eyes get used to reading and watching the movie at the same time. I have seen the movie plenty of times, and I really think I am learning Italian because of the joy of the real voices in the movie. If you watch the subtitled version, it just feels real...and you can almost know what they are saying without reading...I think that is just your EYES ADJUSTING! So please, for your sake, watch the movie in Italian with subtitles and not dubbed. I hope you enjoy a wonderful movie. Roberto is truly a great and kind man, society could learn a lot from people like him. BONJOURNO PRESHA-PRISHA! ...(I know I cant spell it, but you get the drift) :)Movie Review: EXTRAORDINARY...BOTH WONDROUSLY JOYOUS AND INFINITELY SAD
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best and most creative films ever made. Totally inventive in concept, the story revolves around an exuberant and romantic Italian man named Guido, who also happens to be Jewish. He sweeps the woman of his dreams, his "Principessa", off her feet. They marry and have an adorable little boy whom they dearly love. Unfortunately, this all happens during World War II in fascist Italy.
Ultimately, Guido and their son are whisked away to a concentration/work camp on their young son's birthday. Meanwhile, his wife and the boy's mother, coming home and expecting to find a birthday celebration in progress, discovers, instead, that the inevitable has occurred. She tracks them down to the train that is taking prisoners to a work camp and, after confirming that they are on board, insists upon boarding the train herself, so that she may remain close to them. They see her board the train and know that she is with them.
In order to get his son through this horror as best he can, Guido tells his son that they are involved in a real life game to win a tank, knowing that the boy had wanted a toy tank for his birthday. Talk about a reality survival game! In any case, his son is young enough to fall for it and gets with the program as only the very young can. What follows is a series of inventive scenarios which tells the viewer of the lengths that the father goes in order to keep his son quiet, obedient, entertained, and safe from harm. All along, the father has his son believing in the game and playing to win, to the point that the boy believes that they are actually in first place to win the tank.
While this may sound like an odd venue in which to find oneself laughing, that is exactly what the viewer does. At the same time, the film is achingly poignant, and the end is infinitely sad. Guido is played to perfection by comedic star and filmmaker Roberto Benigni, who also directed this masterpiece. His on screen wife and comedic foil is played by his real life main squeeze, Nicoletta Braschi. The son is played with wondrous innocence by the totally adorable Giorgio Cantarini. This is an award caliber film that saw Benigni deservedly capture Oscars for Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film.
All in all, this film will leave the viewer both laughing and crying. It is simply a great movie. Bravo!
Movie Review: A Wonderful Film
Summary: 5 Stars
Life is Beautiful is a film by Roberto Benigni, which really showcases his talent before he made an embarassing stab at playing Pinocchio. "Life is Beautiful" is probably my favorite Foreign film (I've only seen probably 5 though); It's funny, heartfelt, has wonderful performances, and is all around a joy to watch. It also happens to be a layered film, that goes in one direction before veering off into another but never losing it's charm. Benigni plays Guido, a waiter with a humorous streak. After Guido contantly stumbles into Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), he falls in love with her and the movie (with no warning) flashes forward a number of years. This first half of the film (which is a little over 50 minutes) is pretty much a romantic-comedy. The second half is quite different. In the second half, Guido and Dora (who now have a young son named Joshua) live in Italy which is overrun with Germans. Subsequently, Guido and Joshua are taken into a concentration camp; Dora also goes to the camp, but under different circumstances which are a bit unbelievable but still a nice part of the story. Anyway, Guido employs his quick-wit to keep his son from the horrors of the camp; Guido tells Josh that it's actually an elaborate game and that he must avoid being seen. If, at the end, he does everything he's told and racks up the most "points" he will get a tank. Benigni (who is also the co-writer and director) does something that's never been done. He takes a horrifying setting (a concentration camp) and turns it into a comedy, without exploting anything and without losing heart.
The film takes a sad turn in the end, which I think adds to it's realism. If it had a completely happy ending, I don't think it would work as well. Even if you're not a person who watches foreign film, this is an absolute masterpiece and to not see this film would be a mistake. This is a wonderful film, with Benigni (who I think is the first person to win an Oscar for Best Actor for a foreign language film, although I could be wrong) giving an absolutely delightful performance. I really don't see how someone could not enjoy this film.
GRADE: A