Life is Beautiful
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Movie Reviews of Life is Beautiful
Movie Review: You laugh and you cry
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently saw the list of the all-time favorite foreign movies as rated by moviegoers and this one topped the list. I am hardly surprised. In fact I have yet to come across a person who has told me that he doesn't like this film. When people watch a movie, they expect to be entertained. Some expect to be touched, while others expect to be impressed. 'Life is beautiful' is capable of doing all that and more. A good comedy is hard to execute, a 'tragicomedy' harder and to draw a comedy out of the darkest period of mankind is almost impossible. Benigni begged to differ. His mind was set on showing you that laughter is the remedy of all ills. He would make you forget to cry without demeaning the gravity of the situation. Only at the very end would you feel the weight of this crime against humanity.
The reason why the film works so well is because he brilliantly divided it up into two almost distinct segments. Like a good salesman, before he makes the sale pitch, he would like to get personal with you. For the first hour or so, he would introduce you to his family, charm you endlessly and before you have the chance to get bored, he would take you to the gutter. By the time you are in the slaughterhouse (in this case literally), he has built up enough credibility that you no longer doubt him. By that point, you would laugh with him and not at him.
This film is not only about the triumph of humankind, it is also a triumph of moviemaking. Like everyone else in the room, I am eagerly awaiting what mischief Benigni is up to next. Will it get any better than this?
Movie Review: an Italian triumph
Summary: 5 Stars
The use of humor throughout the film Life is Beautiful allows the movie to accurately represent the horrors of World War II without being dark. One could argue that the humor takes away from the seriousness, dignity, and respect with which the Holocaust should be portrayed. However, there already exists an abundance of humorless, depressing movies concerning the Holocaust and the Second World War. Also, the humor is not at the expense of the Jewish people, but rather the [...] ideals. In my favorite scene, in which the main character jumps up on the table in the school and showcases himself as an example of the racial purity of the Italians, the whole notion of racial purity is being made fun of, since he is in reality a Jewish person himself.
I personally think that using comedy in this film was a great idea. The comedic aspect of this movie has helped it reach a much wider audience than the vast majority of Holocaust related movies. The fact that Life is Beautiful is relatively well-known in the United States is an achievement in and of itself, seeing as Americans tend to dislike having to read sub-titles and not be able to understand Italian. It would certainly be possible for a movie to go completely overboard, trying to make everything into a joke, which would have the effect of cheapening the war and the Holocaust. A movie that contains so many jokes that it approaches absurdity and completely neglects the trauma and horrors of the Holocaust would be offensive and very hurtful to those people who experienced the Holocaust first-hand.
Movie Review: Life is Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't be fooled by the DVD cover: there will be nothing saccharin about your experience of this film after having viewed it start to finish. I believe I accidently happened upon this picture while wandering aimlessly around the foreign film section of Blockbuster video on a winter evening back in 1998 (when the film was first released). At the time, the title probably resonated somewhere inside the idealistic part of my psyche...but here I am years later, still affected. Roberto Begnini somehow manages to artfully convey (even as the tone, events and storyline within the movie dramatically change) that we have the ability to mold uncertain (at times fearful) circumstances into bearable opportunities to cope, and ultimately live (there is an irony, here, for any who see the very end of the film). The focus is indirectly placed on the choices we make and attitudes/perspective we have as we go through hardship; simple awareness and determination; and, of course, real love. The love conveyed here is the sacrifical kind that wants the best for the other person...but touches also on the qualities in love (and in life) that are absolutely fantastical and magical: the things that don't need explaining and the stuff that is known by methods other than the tangible: happenings, circumstances, people and events that transport us to the places that make sense only in the context of an intimate relationship with a universe of intricacy and uncertainty. It's an artist's film. It will charm and amuse you right before it delves deep and leaves you in tears.Movie Review: Beautiful, inspiring, heart-wrenching triumph of a film
Summary: 5 Stars
This is possibly my favourite film ever. It is truly rare that I buy films, but in this case I simply had to. The truth is, this film is an absolutely beautiful work of art - truly living up to the word 'art' in every way.Whilst some have called this a comedy about the holocaust, I beg to differ. This is a drama which absolutely brings out the sadness and pain of the Holocaust in every way, so as to bring tears to the eye. But it also brings us Guido, the irrepressably optimistic man who will do anything to keep fighting to make life good for himself and his son, even at the Nazi concentration camps. His determination is very admirable. Those who say this film is an insult to Jews - have you even seen this film? This, more than any other film, more than any facts and figures, made me realise how terrible and unnecessary the Holocaust really was.
This film brings moments of intense sadness and despair which remind you this, but also moments of pure cinematographic joy - the sequence where the family are on the bike together, for example, and the closing frame with the reunion of the mother and son. In these instances, life truly is beautiful. This film teaches to even in the depths of despair we can find something to live for; something to believe in, something to make life beautiful.
It is a brave film, and it is a brave character that it centres round. If there were more people like Guido, blessed with the sort of kindness of heart and will to keep smiling that he is, the world would be a better place.
Movie Review: a truly unforgettable film.........
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the privilege of seeing LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (LA VITA E BELLA) in the movie theater, right after star and co-director Roberto Benigini had won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Actor. There is no other word to describe it. This film is beautiful, and it definitely makes you appreciate and value life more.
I know some people have trouble picturing a film whose subject matter is the Holocaust that starts out as such a bubbly comedy. But, that is exactly the tone that the director and writers (Roberto Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami) developed, and it's brilliant. Guido (Benigni) is a young, Jewish-Italian man with a wonderful sense of humor and a gusto for life. He falls madly in love with Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a beautiful woman who he continues to pursue (even when she is engaged to be married to another man!). Of course, love conquers all. However, the second half takes a decidedly different turn when he and his son (Giorgio Cantarini) are placed in a concentration camp. This is when Guido's inventiveness and imagination become invaluable tools in shielding his son from the horrors they encounter there.
It is rare that I see a film that leaves me so breathless as this one does, ten years later. This is the film that Roberto Benigni will be most remembered for, and for good reason. I suggest that you watch this for your heart, your soul and your spirit. Be sure to have a box of kleenex and prepare to lose yourself in the spellbinding beauty of this movie.