Overall Rating
  Awesome: 70.52%
Worth A Look: 11.55%
Average: 6.37%
Pretty Bad: 2.39%
Total Crap: 9.16%
9 reviews, 197 user ratings
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| Life is Beautiful |
by MissDelicateFlower
"ATTN: title is LIFE is Beautiful, not a movie about the Holocaust"
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Romance without swallowing.I just came back from the theater and so this review is fresh. I have been waiting to see this film for at least 3 or 4 months. The previews were very catchy, showing a Chaplin-esque clown character trying to protect his son from the reality and nightmare of W.W. II.
The screenplay was written by Roberto Benigni who also directed and stars in the film. The story opens in Italy (I am not sure if it is supposed to be before the war hit there or during) with Guido (Benigni) and his friend racing down a mountain road toward a city because the brakes have gone out in their car. They pass through a crowd that lines a village street to hail a visiting king and are mistaken for the king. This is the first glimpse of the comedy that follows. Some of the jokes came off better than others, although some guy in the theater laughed LOUDLY and lingeringly at every little pun. I, myself laughed pretty hard at least 4 times.
So, anyway, Guido is going to this city to get a job with his uncle, a Maitre de at a fancy restaurant. On his way there, he meets a pretty schoolteacher, Dora (Nicoletta Braschi). Everything he does seems to be a consequence of divine luck. The first 1/4 of the story involves Guido winning Dora away from some stupid fascist guy. The scenes occur among fairy talish settings. My favorite is the interior of the restaurant where Guido is a waiter. It is all white. Very open, big columns, small tables, posh. Guido really stands out as a colorful character against this minimalist-yet-opulent backdrop. It was more like something from the stage.
Then, the story cuts to several years later. Dora and Guido are married and have a son, Joshua (Giorgio Cantarini). They are living the good life, Dora still teaching, Guido and Joshua run a bookstore (even though Joshua is only about 5). Guido still approaches everything with a comedic attitude. Sadly, the story takes a tragic turn when Guido, Joshua, and the uncle are packed onto a train destined for a concentration camp. Dora finds out, and in spite of being a non-Jew, gets on the train just so she won’t be separated from her family.
The rest of the story is set in the concentration camp. It does not revolve around gruesome visuals as many Holocaust stories do, but gives the viewer just enough gory glimpses to remind us that they are now in hell. The story is not really about the Holocaust, though. It could have been set in many different places, many different times in history and still had the same plot. The central theme is how Guido shields Joshua from the reality of the situation by telling him it is all a big game. He says they have to play by certain rules and will gain points for doing so. When they 1000 points, they will win a real tank, not a toy like the one Joshua was playing with before they were detained. Joshua believes him, even when others are telling him differently Guido is able to convince him it is a game.
The first portion of the film is very romantic, but not in that lovey-dovey goopy sappy nauseating way. It is not at all like Sleepless in Seattle or Pretty Woman or An Officer and a Gentleman. The romance comes from Benigni’s enchanting comedic routines and the sets and cinemetograph and musical score. The parts in the concentration camp are depressing, yet touching not because they show scenes of murder and torture. It is not at all like The Holocaust or Schindler’s List. It is touching because, in spite of the horrors accuring around them, Guido manages to create a different, brighter reality in which to hide his son. Benigni and Caparini do the bulk of the important acting, and they are most enchanting.
If you are going to the theater expecting a documentary style movie about the Holocaust, you will be sorely disappointed. If you are going to see a very romantic story of a really cool personality and how he loves life and his family, you got it, babe.Not the best movie of the year, but still very entertaining.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=976&reviewer=58
originally posted: 12/01/98 08:18:22
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USA
06-Aug-1999 (PG-13)
UK
N/A
Australia
26-Dec-1998 (M)
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