Life Is Beautiful

Rating:
Summary: 292 Reviews should tell you something. It's terrific!
Review: Put the children to bed, unplug the phone, get out the tissues and refuse to watch this movie with anybody who likes to talk during a movie. You will be blown away.

Holocaust and comedy. Two words never spoken in the same breath before "Life is Beautiful." To smiply label this movie as such, would do it injustice. Every emotion comes into play during the viewing. You soon begin to empathize with Roberto Benigni as he portrays a father trying to keep the harsh realities of a German concentration camp from his young son. Benigni protects his son with two weapons that the German's could not seize: Humor and Imagination.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and yes I cried. But I also laughed and smiled.

I recommend the Sub-title version of the movie. After five minutes the reading becomes natural and the depth to which you become involved with the movie is well worth it.

I so enjoyed the music in this movie, that I purchased "Tales of Hoffman" by Offenbach. The second playing of this piece in the movie will not allow you to maintain dry eyes.

Rating:
Summary: You¿ll laugh, you¿ll cry: a truly moving movie.
Review: An Italian movie? Worth watching? If you are put off by the fact that this movie was produced in Italian, you'll miss the pleasure of seeing one of the most "moving" movies ever made. And fortunately for us English-speaking folks, a version has been produced with English voices fluently dubbed over the original Italian. You'll find that the power of this movie goes beyond languages and cultures.

The setting is Italy, prior the Second World War; the protagonist Guido is a bumbling yet charming waiter. With his Charlie Chaplin style charm, Guido attempts to seduce the pretty schoolteacher Dora, only to find she is already engaged. In a comic sequences of events, he courts and wins his bride. But this first half of the movie about romance is mere background, setting the emotional stage for the rest of the movie and the horror that follows. After their marriage and an interlude of five years, it becomes evident that Guido is a Jew. Along with his wife and son Giosue (Joshua), he is deported to a concentration camp.

The structure reminds me of "It's a Wonderful Life", which in a similar manner is composed of two halves, the first half developing sympathy for a character and his family, and the second half placing this character in the cauldron of fiery trials and tragedy. There are also similarities with the movie "Titanic" - a man falls in love with an engaged woman based on physical attraction, and after the conquest of their love they are together they are thrown into a horrific trial with a tragic conclusion. But "Life is Beautiful" has a story far more "titanic" in its power and passion, and unlike the Hollywood blockbuster, it is genuine love based on self sacrfice rather than immoral passions. Whatever suggestion there is of immorality (such as Guido's declaration that he desires to make love to her on the street) is presented absurdly and for humor, and is hardly intended to be taken seriously, unlike the steamy car scene in Titanic. The very vague suggestion that they sleep together before marriage quickly fades behind the image of marital faithfulness, the wife's selfless devotion to her husband and family, and the self-sacrificing love of a husband and father.

While the first half is very comic, the second half is very serious. Guido is desperate to protect young Joshua from the horror inflicted by the Germans, and so he pretends that the concentration camp is part of an elaborate game, with the first prize being a real tank. He tries to keep up his son's spirits by ingeniously inventing this game, saying "Isn't this fun?" "I've never had so much fun!" "It sure is fun!" These repeated statements ring hollow in the middle of a concentration camp, and the illusion is hard to maintain when the boy says "I just don't get this game" and wants it to be over. His father's reply "This game is serious" has more significance than he realizes.

The first part of the movie features many memorable scenes of comedy: the belly-button classroom speech; the couple in deep conversation on the steps, he holding a steering wheel and she holding a pillow over her behind; a passionate kiss that occurs underneath the table; the green horse Prince Charming uses to rescue his princess; Guido's "interpreting" of the German guard's instruction. But as comedy turns into tragedy, there are also memorable scenes of tragedy: the old Jew offering to help up the German who trips in the gas chambers; the irony of the German doctor who can help Guido but is obsessed with his riddles: "You have to help me!"; and the boy's final vision of his father goose-stepping between the guards.

The concluding hope ("We won! We won!") is touched by tragedy. By not being afraid to include sorrow, this tragic note makes the movie all the more emotional and successful. I can think of few movies that have affected me as emotionally as this one. Injecting a movie about the holocaust with comedy was taking a major risk, but ultimately made the movie all the more successful. The height of comedy in the first half makes the depth of tragedy in the second half all the deeper.

The PG-13 rating is primarily because of one instance of blasphemy, and a few war scenes. Any adult themes that are present, however are not seen, but implied off-screen, including the actual horrors of the concentration camp. Rather than dwell on the physical horrors of war through sensationalism, this movie focuses instead on the emotional impact. It is especially the actor Roberto Benigni that makes this succeed. As well as being the main actor, Roberto Benigni was also the writer and director of the movie. In the half-hour featurette that is on the DVD, he acknowledges that the biggest influence on his acting was Charlie Chaplin. Not does his slap-stick humour provide wonderful comic relief, but also emotion. It's a brilliant performance that deservedly won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

But this film also took out the Academy Awards for best soundtrack - the classical music is a wonderful emotional counterpart to the storyline - and for the best foreign language film. Over time, it has won a record of over 70 international awards. After you watch it, you'll understand why. It's a captivating picture of comedy and of survival and hope in the midst of horrific tragedy. I can't think of a single movie that has "moved" me as this one has. It may be Italian, but this is a movie not to be missed by people from anywhere around the world.

Rating:
Summary: Mooving
Review: Lovely, funny but also get's you to think in the horroble time of the holocaust. One of my favourite films ever, specially because of the way begnini deals with the situation enterteining his sun...

Rating:
Summary: It blows most American Films into dust
Review: "Life is Beautiful" may be Italian, it doesn't follow the American film format, but that's what makes this GREAT.
"Life is Beautiful" is about a single man that keeps bumping into such a beautiful woman, whom he calls princess.
Through true romance, which is rare in American films, he wins her heart.
After they are married, which you dont even see them making out, they have a son name Joshua.
The father and son open up a bookstore and soon comes across signs on some stores "No Jews or Dogs allowed" "Jewish store", etc.
On Joshua's birthday, they are taken away on a train to the concentration camp. The wife finds out, and gets on before they go.
Meanwhile, throughout the whole movie, the father does everything he can to make his son happy.
In most american films, the father may try to keep the son happy as the son is scared of what might happen.
In this movie, the son is unaware for the most part that there is even any danger whatsoever, because his father said it's his birthday party.
Through hard times, the father continues to say they are in a game, and at 1,000 points, they win a real tank.
Not only does he keep his son happy, but at times that he can, he also does what he can to make his wife happy, who is on the other side of the camp.
Even to the end, when the father is shot down, it is quite decent, for you don't see him get shot down or blood gushing out. You just know he died.
And at the end, the tank drives on down. he believes that he did win, and the American gives him a ride until the son sees his mother.
It's a movie you MUST see.

Rating:
Summary: Hankies all around!
Review: Many films, in the movie theater and on television, have documented the horrors of The Holocaust. The best of these -- most notably, Speilberg's masterpiece, "Schindler's List" -- relate human anguish and evil incarnate in startling clarity. What's interesting is that as poignant and disturbing as these works have been, they often fail to drive home the unbridled emotion that one would expect from such detail. Perhaps this is due to a sort of "historical phenomena;" intellectually -- and correctly -- we feel that we should be moved, but it's like reading a text book, the most profound emotional connection is lost. With "Life is Beautiful," that elusive bond is crystallized. That is the genius -- yes, genius -- of this film; the relatively cold mental link is superceded by the ethereal in all of us.

This marvelous film is, as our narrator informs us, a fable. The humor is onerously silly, at least by American standards, but it often works. What's unexpectedly wonderful about the lightheartedness of the first half of the movie is that it masterfully sets up the second half. Our idyllic little family, Guido, Dora, and Joshua, are beset upon by a damnable twist of fate -- AND WE ARE TAKEN WITH THEM! What comes next is nothing short of movie magic, that which makes a film a classic. Guido, through a series of thoroughly implausible actions, manages to pull our heartstrings like -- unbelievably -- no other film concerning The Holocaust ever has!

While the film has come under fire from some circles for not depicting an egregious event in history accurately or reverently, I believe that the detractors have focused their senses in the wrong direction. Put aside your pre-conceptions about what movies relating the horrors of WWII "should be like," this film conveys the sorrow and indomitable spirit of a people like no other before it! Watch this movie, better yet, buy it, and be moved to tears like I was!

Rating:
Summary: Life is Beautiful
Review: Ohmigod,if I had to choose one Roberto Benigini movie, it'd would have to be Life is Beautiful. After this movie, I did realize that life really is beautiful. This movie is about Gweeno...the main character. He keeps bumping into Dora, a schoolteacher. They soon marry and have a son, who they named, Joshua. On Joshua's birthday, Gweeno and his son are taken to a concentration camp. Dora finds out and wants to be taken to the camp as well. At the end of the movie, Gweeno dies and Joshua gets his wish to ride in a tank...how beautiful..

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Life is Beautiful is an excellent film portraying the life of an Italian family during WWII. Everything from the storyline to the cinematography was as near perfect as one can ask. This story of a father's love shows that life is in fact beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: It blows most American Films into dust
Review: "Life is Beautiful" may be Italian, it doesn't follow the American film format, but that's what makes this GREAT.
"Life is Beautiful" is about a single man that keeps bumping into such a beautiful woman, whom he calls princess.
Through true romance, which is rare in American films, he wins her heart.
After they are married, which you dont even see them making out, they have a son name Joshua.
The father and son open up a bookstore and soon comes across signs on some stores "No Jews or Dogs allowed" "Jewish store", etc.
On Joshua's birthday, they are taken away on a train to the concentration camp. The wife finds out, and gets on before they go.
Meanwhile, throughout the whole movie, the father does everything he can to make his son happy.
In most american films, the father may try to keep the son happy as the son is scared of what might happen.
In this movie, the son is unaware for the most part that there is even any danger whatsoever, because his father said it's his birthday party.
Through hard times, the father continues to say they are in a game, and at 1,000 points, they win a real tank.
Not only does he keep his son happy, but at times that he can, he also does what he can to make his wife happy, who is on the other side of the camp.
Even to the end, when the father is shot down, it is quite decent, for you don't see him get shot down or blood gushing out. You just know he died.
And at the end, the tank drives on down. he believes that he did win, and the American gives him a ride until the son sees his mother.
It's a movie you MUST see.

Rating:
Summary: A Painful Experience
Review: Yes, I know I am in the minority here, but I absolutely loathed this movie. For benefit of the doubt reasons, I did watch it twice, just to ensure my reaction was intellectual as well as emotional (even worse the second time). I still remember Steven Spielberg's face at the Academy Awards -- he hated this film, and I understand why.

Nothing in this movie rang true, nothing; false from beginning to end: even the sets reminded me of Disney, or a sound set. No camp ever resembled anything in this film. Roberto Benigni is little more than a clown without the soft, sad core, and had no business manipulating a subject as horrific as 'Shoah' to suite his broad, comedic purposes. Nowhere do we see the true nature of anti-Semitism, or Nazi viciousness; it is all soft focus, blunted and romantic. Curiously sterile. As a result, I felt nothing, no sympathy, only anger. So contaminated I needed a shower.

I have a bias: I am a historian and am the child of camp survivors. My mother (now a retired university professor), whom I asked to watch the movie, could not stomach it. She said it was "repulsive" and "disgusting", an unrealistic fantasy that made light of a collective experience. She was in her early twenties then and clearly remembers the war. I have also spoken with other survivors, Jewish and Gentile (including Italian), of WW II over the years who have seen 'Life is Beautiful' (granted, a small number -- fifteen or sixteen): I dare not print the invectives. One very elderly gentleman I spoke with a few years ago shook his head, spat, and wept -- "this funny man should rot. He does not understand." This gentleman has since passed on.

It seems Europeans who lived through the war as victims of Axis torture have a different perspective. The scars are still too deep and hard for many to stomach this travesty. No one can tell these people to "get over it, it's just a movie", a phrase I have actually heard.

Want to find out what really happened? Invest eight hours in watching 'Shoah', a devastating, haunting, experience, and one true to history.

Rating:
Summary: magnificent
Review: this film is great. the music got you in the movie watching mood te little jokes made you laugh and the end is a real tearjerker for some.