Rating: 
Summary: Hmmm....
Review: This is certainly one movie that did not meet my expectations. It is cosmetically gorgeous - as all movies shot in Tuscany seem to be. However, the plot is a mish-mash of every popular movie and politico-social trends from the past few decades. Stand-up comedy, in the backdrop of the Holocaust, with a cute kid thrown in and gorgeous scenery just did not gel. A weak storyline needs that special touch to make a transition from the real to the magical. But it simply does not happen. The Germans seem very adept at running the camp but when it comes to Guido and his son, they seem oblivious to the obvious. The plot is improbable and at every attempt Guido seems to do something that makes the tenous storyline even more unbelievable. The scenes of the gas chambers seem disjointed and poorly stitched in. I think the director's true genious is in giving Hollywood a recipe with every ingredient for formulaic success and watch it being gulped down and swallowed with "I feel good now" attitude. It has been an interesting progression from Kolya (communism and cute kid) to Life is Beautiful (Arrezo, kid, Facism, and stand-up comedy).Europa, Europa from a few years ago did a much better job portraying the Holocaust and the inconsistencies of the War from a unique point of view. One cannot forget The Garden of Finzi-Continis - with a very similar theme but much more thought provoking and haunting. And if you are looking for the cute kid angle, do not forget Central Station - a real life movie that turns magical towards the end w/o any political agenda to bolster it. And the laughs - I rather watch Austin Powers.
Rating: 
Summary: Life is Beautiful
Review: Incredible, sad, happy, very emotional, one of the best movies I have ever seen. Fell in love with Roberto!
Rating:
Summary: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. . .THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOVIE OF MY LIFE !
Review: My eyes are moist, my heart if full. I have just seen LA VITA E BELLA on video and it is the most beautiful movie of "LIFE" I have ever seen. You will laugh so hard that you will not be able to read the subtitles through your tears of laughter and you will weep for joy even in the saddest moments. You will want to view life, for the rest of your life, through the eyes of Roberto Benigni!
Rating:
Summary: One of the most emotional movies I've ever seen
Review: I suspect that most people that didn't like this movie either don't have kids or just don't know how to love (yet). Some, I think, missed the point of this movie. You don't have to believe it could happen, it's to believe what a parent would do to protect his/her child. I've never seen a movie that could make you laugh and cry simultaneously. Like the scene when he translated the instructions from German to Italian. This was so funny and so sad at the same time. It's a amazing he pulled it off.
Rating:
Summary: stunning
Review: i did not want to like this film when i watched it. i was at glastonbury at an open air cinema and there were cries of "what is this, bbc 2" but inspite of the language barrier the emotions within the film carry through.it manages to communicate the love felt by a father for his son and does the impossible when it adds comedy to the holocaust. this is probably the best film to win an oscar and an eye opening experience
Rating:
Summary: Arguably the best movie I have ever seen
Review: It takes a lot to get me to watch a movie nowadays, but this movie was one of the best ones I have ever seen! Clean, fun and unlike many movies, actually respects the fact that you can infer what is going on from the context. A definite reccomend!
Rating: 
Summary: Life is Beautiful?
Review: Having written an initial review of Life is Beautiful in rather a hurry (LiB is really rather glib, 26 November 1999), I would now like to make some additional (and final) comments to justify my arguments. Please note that I am not an absolute detractor (three stars!); instead, I wish critically to examine those aspects that I find questionable. Many of the film's supporters claim that LiB is not about the holocaust, but rather a father's love for his son. However, this line of argumentation is too easily used to ward off criticism of questionable aspects, e.g., many supporters of Pulp Fiction claim that their film is essentially about honor and redemption, and not (just) crime and violence. This doesn't prevent Tarantino's depiction of crime and violence from being (deservedly) extremely controversial. LiB is still essentially about a Jewish man who ends up in a concentration camp with his wife and son, i.e., it is a holocaust story. Naturally, the father-son relationship is to the fore, but the holocaust itself is crucial to the film's context. My criticism is that Benigni has tailored certain aspects of the holocaust to meet the demands of his sweet tale and not vice versa, partly misrepresenting them, and hence weakening both them and the impact of his film. The lack of realism that I and others question is NOT a lack of documentary realism a là Schindler's List, for that would contribute nothing here. On the contrary, it is most appropriate for this fantasy/tragicomedy that the depiction of the concentration camp be stylized and abstracted - but not falsified. Even assuming we could ever accept that the boy, Giosuè, could have believed his father's explanations and survived as he did, there are still problematic elements. One example is the first scene with Guido's deliberate misinterpretation of the guard's instructions as the rules of a game. To me, this humor is fairly uninspired, and Guido's antics, solely for the benefit of his son, are arguably insensitive toward the other camp inmates. More glaring, however, is the absurd lack of camp security, most jarring in the scene where Guido plays music over the PA. Think: after having gone to such effort to protect and hide Giosuè, why would he endanger himself, and hence his son, by doing this? Admittedly Guido wanted his wife to know that they were alive, but even assuming he could ever have reached the PA in the first place, such an action would logically have led to severe punishment, probably death, negating all that he (and Benigni in his film!) was trying to achieve. Here, it doesn't even help that the film depicts a softened-up camp; even fantasy needs to be plausible on its own terms. This scene shows more than any other the degree of contrivance at work, and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that it was primarily inserted just to manipulate the audience's feelings. At the very least this is superficial, at worst phony, and perhaps even in questionable taste given the film's holocaust context. In short, the scene is pure kitsch, undermining any HONEST attempt to show that life is beautiful in the face of greatest adversity. There is another scene in LiB's second half that is truly impressive, however, perhaps the most poignant in the whole film, in which Guido does a funny walk to impress his son, is marched off camera, and killed. This scene somehow rang true, and drove home the gravity of the fact that the life of a unique individual had been wiped out in an instant. Even though Guido's character did not appeal to me that much, this scene was strong enough to make me care about him anyway. Compare this scene with the incidental death of the young black in the car in the final third of Pulp Fiction, played entirely for laughs, and the value of (and need for) a few life-affirming films becomes even clearer. In the end, the boy meets up with his mother, and yes, I felt happy at their reunion. But what further ordeals did they still have to face, and could life have ever really been the same again, still in essence beautiful despite all? Perhaps, but this ending is, for me, too banal, like the whole second half of the film a too-simplistic attempt to squeeze some humanity out of an event whose full evil remains utterly beyond my comprehension, even though I have lived as a foreigner in Germany for twelve years. Such a sentimental approach may appeal to less discerning viewers who may not wish to leave a movie feeling depressed, and who may choose to focus on the father-son relationship, but it remains, at least partially, an overly simple panacea for certain inexplicable evils of this world. In conclusion, had Benigni not adapted the holocaust as he had, I might have given it a higher rating. He wouldn't even have had to make a totally different film. There are other, truly classic feel-good fantasy films that also depict a highly stylized reality, but, beyond their own obvious fantasy premise, do not misrepresent in this way the hardships of life that they address, and thus drive home their message more convincingly. The trials of James Stewart's character in It's a Wonderful Life or even the mild depictions of the dysfunctional family, urban poverty, and crisis of job loss in Mary Poppins are excellent examples of what I mean. And yet: even though I do not like Benigni's style, I at least give the film three stars for its boldness, originality, and humanistic attitude. I am merely skeptical, not cynical. I believe Benigni made his film with honorable intentions, and if it has also done something to engender greater sympathy for holocaust survivors, that alone is of great worth. But I do not believe its shortcomings can be brushed aside so easily.
Rating:
Summary: Molto bene!
Review: I went to this movie with a friend who always cries,and I never cry at the movies.Well,this one changed my outlook forever!I was moved beyond words.The Italian scenery in the beginning was gorgeous and Robert's ebullience contagious!I cannot wait to buy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The most beautiful film I have ever seen!
Review: If you have yet to see this film....do it now! It is probably the most touching movie I have ever seen in my entire life. The italians sure know how to put genuine love onto film. Roberto Benigni is fabulous and you will just fall in love with him! It is no wonder he won the Oscar last year. It should have gotten the Oscar for movie too! It's a shame that it didn't! Watch it and I bet you will feel the same! Carol PS Have plenty of tissue on hand!
Rating:
Summary: beautiful
Review: Roberto Benignini is a genius! This movie show how beautiful life can be! If everyone had as much charisma and love as his character, the world might be a happier place for all of us. I cannot say enough good thing about this film, so I guess I'll stop now, but watch this movie!
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