Rating: 
Summary: Love beyond measure.
Review: I was almost determined not to like this movie based on the clownish antics of Benigni at the Academy Awards. However, he made this silliness pull off magic in this tender love story. The most heart-tugging thing about this movie is that it is beyond a love story, in the romantic sense. The man loved his son so much that he wanted to protect him from the atrocities going on around him. The charade is a complete success, as was this man's life. He never gave up hope for his wife or his child. This movie leaves you cheering, crying, and wanting to give your child a huge hug and never let go. You will re-evaluate your own priorities.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh and Cry at the same time
Review: This is a must see for everyone. The horrors of war and the persistance of the human spirit mixed with a unique blend of humor. One of the best films I've seen in years and a must have for the video collection.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone, but damn close
Review: Okay, a few folks have said they did not like this film. Fair enough, I didn't like Good Will Hunting.But let's take a look here. If you know what this film is all about, then the first half of it will astound you. I mean, egg on faces? It comes startingly close to Benny Hill for 'want of a laugh track'. Ahh, but the warmth grows on you, and then... The second half. Few scenes are as emotional as when Guido has to reassure his son that the Jews 'aren't going to be made into soap.' The film takes a turn for the harshness and doesn't let up. Schindler's List was a phenomenal film, showing the utter horror of the holocaust, but it missed one thing: the notion of hope. No one in Spielberg's masterpiece continually believes that 'life is beautiful'. All we see is the horror, the downfall, the pain. And while that makes for a fantastic dramatic punch, it negates any humor or spirit the prisoners may have had to blanket themselves from the harshness, and this humor surely existed. Guido knows very soon that he is going to die. But, the love for his son outweighs the need to DISPLAY hopelessness. If nothing else, he must protect his son. So he convinces him it's all a game. Simple, buffoonish... and damn identifiable. Who here can honestly say they wouldn't do anything they could to protect their sons/daughters from knowing the biggest evil on Earth? Guido manages to keep his son involved in 'the game' while he himself knows it will most likely end according to an evil thought. The end scene, where Guido realizes he is going to be killed, and yet does a goofy march to make his son laugh, is one of the most powerful sights to ever be associated with the trauma the Nazi's inflicted on the world. If you didn't like this film, fine. But don't say it mocked the Holocaust. If anything, it's a tribute to the flame of life that wouldn't be blown out. Laughter seeps into any tradegy, if the love for life is there. Anne Frank said something to the effect that 'in spite of all this, I still feel people are good in heart'. She had hope. She knew life was beautiful. -CS
Rating:
Summary: Humor as a weapon against the absurdity of evil
Review: I watched this movie last night, and it still moves me to both smiles and tears. Benigni succeeds in drawing to their absurd, comic conclusions the principles of both racism and anti-semitism. Just 2 examples: When asked to tell a class of Italian pupils about the racial superiority of the Italians, he exposes his navel and is proud of what an Aryan navel it is. Or when his little son asks why certain stores now forbid Jews and dogs, he tries to protect his son by saying it is the personal preference of the shopkeeper. Why, some vendors, for example, forbid Ostrogoths and spiders! (His son doesn't like spiders). It was a razor-thin, high-wire balancing act to try to bring humor to an insanely evil period in humanity's history, but he succeeded. Unfortunately, many still take their absurd assumptions seriously even today -- leading to the cases of evil we witness.
Rating:
Summary: A magnificent portrayal of the human spirit, of hope.
Review: This is one of the best movies I have seen in years! Finally, a movie that portrays a positive outlook on the human spirit in hope, commitment to family, love. It is a movie I can watch and enjoy and be touched to tears. It is a movie with good values--not all of us like the violence, vulgar sex and language, and so-called "reality" of the movies made today. This is a highly recommended production for all! Thank you, Roberto!
Rating:
Summary: "I laughed, I cried... It was better than Cats..."
Review: I haven't actually seen Cats, but this was better than 99% of the movies I've ever seen. It was lighthearted at times, and very sad at other times, and Roberto seems to know well how to mix up laughing and crying... sort of like how it happens in real life... This is a truly unique movie.
Rating:
Summary: You know its a powerful movie when...
Review: months after seeing it for the first time, just the music in your cd player makes you cry. I've been a Benigni fan for over 10 years and was always amazed at his comic genius. With this film my love for him and his work grows. And listening to the cd in my car still makes me cry, ask the toll booth attendants that always ask if I'm okay... Happy, sad, joyful, enraged...these are simple words to describe the emotions Benigni made me feel...'Enthralled' describes my entire state of being in regards to this film..
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, funny story of a tragic time in history
Review: Life is Beautiful is a unique film that tells the story of how a family of victims learn to live with the harsh reality of the nazi concentration camp they are taken to. I was truly touched by the hardships this particular family had to deal with. The comedy in this movie was unbelievably appropriate as was the sorrow. The acting was incredible; I have never seen American actors even come close to the perfection achieved in this film.
Rating:
Summary: Truly the greatest human achievement in 2000 years
Review: When this movie came out in my home town, I had been diagnosed with a rare skin disease that was very painful and embarrassing. To cheer myself up, I attended a matinee showing of Life Is Beautiful. Not only was it the single greatest film I have ever seen in my fifty years of obsessive movie-watching, I noticed that my skin ailment had abruptly improved once I emerged from the movie theater and had completely disappeared by the next morning. My doctor is dumbfounded, to say the least, but I know this wonderful wonderful movie is the reason I was cured. If you are suffering from a physical ailment, please see this movie. If nothing else, you will forget your troubles for two hours.
Rating:
Summary: A truly beautiful movie with beautiful moments.
Review: Life is Beautiful is a truly beautiful movie. Roberto Benigni captured my heart through his amazing love for life and people. Seldom do movies portray such a harsh event in history while making the audience smile through their tears. The tender moments between Benigni and his family are priceless. The movie makes you want to be a better person. Benigni forces the audience to look inside themsleves to find the beauty of each of their lives.
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