Rating: 
Summary: A combustible combination of tragedy & comedy
Review: To think that Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful" (La Vita E Bella) "trivializes the holocaust" misses the entire point and premise of this film.It's not, as some seem to feel, a two part film. It's a seamless account of a man blessed with the ability to laugh at everything and not take himself nor, for that matter, anyone or anything else, very seriously. It's that trait which endears Guido (Roberto Benigni) even to Benigni's critics at the start of the film. In fact it's this gift of humor that allows him to foil a fascist school administrator, confound an imperious public official, befriend a German doctor and win the girl, played by Benigni's real life wife, Nicoletta Braschi. As so often happens in life, just when things are looking up, the world closes in on Guido and his family. They wind up in a Nazi concentration camp, where Guido spends all of his energy trying to shield his young son from the realities of their existence. He tells him, it's all a game and that the winner gets a life sized tank to take home. The rest is a tale of a father's love that translates into self sacrifice for his son. As he (the son/survivor) narrates at the start, "This is a very simple story, but a difficult one to tell." Apparently some folks miss the point. Make sure you see the film in its original Italian (with subtitles). It loses much of its emotional energy and charm in the translation.
Rating:
Summary: great movie
Review: this movie is not only in one of the most beautiful langauges there is, but it is also a great story of hope in the midst of crisis. its got everything, comedy, love, thoughts on life. the kid is truly great with his expressions.
Rating:
Summary: This movie works
Review: This movie is definitely worth 5 stars. It is a intricately written, engaging story with no loose ends or flawed constructs. Most of the criticisms are unjustified - the role of the doctor, for example, and the irony/realization of hopelessness he represents in that he could not help his one time friend because he,of all people, could not get the answer to the final riddle. There is intense pain in this movie, and to me it was not a comedy. Rather it is the story of of an indominably kind,good spirit in the midst of total horror. Yes, most of what happened probably could not happen. It will probably leave you very unsettled afterwards. It did to me.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL movie!!!!!!!!
Review: This movie is literally one of the best films I have ever seen. It is touching, funny, and beautiful. I've seen some reviewers complain about the lack of graphic violence, saying that its absence is "sugar-coating" the reality of nazi death camps. However, I find that the film is just as effective without it. One of its other selling points is that it isn't too long. Most movies with this subject matter are way too long and tend to drag on endlessly. I enthusiastically recommend this movie to everyone. Just a note for anyone wary of a movie with subtitles: I watched it in Italian with English subtitles and didn't find them at all distracting.
Rating:
Summary: One of my Top Ten of 1998
Review: When I read several years ago that one of Italy's favorite comedic actors planned to make a comedy about the holocaust, I was appalled. That's what I get for believing everything I read. Life is Beautiful isn't a comedy. Director and star Roberto Benigni has taken what is, in fact, a grim subject, and, in typically Italian fashion, has infused it with a marvelous lust for life. He shows the remarkable abilities many people have to adopt to any situation and to get through it with dignity and humor. And, above all, he shows the remarkable lengths a parent will go to in order to protect a child - not just from physical harm, but from mental and spiritual harm as well. This is a simple story full of the richest of characters. Guido [Benigni] is a young man who is always aware of the wonder of being alive. He can take the most mundane events and turn them into wondrous fantasies. He comes up with the most remarkable ideas for diffusing any bad situation. He is the hopeless romantic. When he moves to a small town, he immediately meets the love of his life. She is Dora [Nicoletta Braschi], the school teacher daughter of a rich, snobbish woman. Guido woos her, and she is captivated by him. Her mother has arranged for her to marry an oafish town official, but Guido has a wealth of funny tricks up his sleeve that aid him in winning her. In the beginning, theirs is a storybook romance, but soon, they encounter an obstacle that even the resourceful Guido cannot overcome, though he tries mightily. Their love affair begins in 1939, when Fascist Italy is in an evil alliance with Nazi Germany. Guido is a Jew. Fate is about to play its hand. By the time Guido and Dora's son, Giosue, is four years old, the Nazi have arrived to send Guido to a concentration camp. Guido and Giosue are arrested suddenly and placed on a train filled with other prisoners. When Dora, who is Catholic, learns of their plight, she rushes to the train station, and, in one of the most poignant scenes in movie history, she demands that the commandant put her aboard it. How can Guido protect his child's mind from the horror that is to follow? That is the heart and soul of Life is Beautiful. Guido shows incredible ingenuity, and, for the most part, Giosue believes him. At times, he just pretends to, because Guido is so full of life, love and humor. His is an infectious personality. The best label for Life is Beautiful is tragicomedy. You take the bitter with the sweet. You appreciate the gift of life. You do your best to see that, no matter what tragedy strikes, the young are preserved for a hopefully brighter future. All of these things are so hard to do, yet Guido makes them seem so simple. Recently, Miramax Films went to great lengths to make a dubbed version of the movie. This is the version I reviewed. While I know subtitles are a nuisance, dubbing often robs a film of the inflections actors try so hard to put into their words. The new language can add an unintended flatness to the dialog. This problem is not so noticeable in Life is Beautiful, and it opens the movie up to the many people who otherwise might avoid it. The movie won Oscars for Best Foreign Film, Best Actor [Benigni] and Best Dramatic Score.
Rating:
Summary: even in the midst of horror, life can be beautiful
Review: Roberto Benigni plays Guido, a man who courts and marries a woman (played by Nicoletta Braschi, his real-life wife) and together they have a son in 1940s Italy. On the boy's 7th birthday, he, his father and uncle are carted away to a concentration camp. In solidarity for her family, his non-Jewish wife insists they take her too. The movie consists of Guido keeping his son child-like by convincing him they are in the midst of a great game, and if the boy behaves, stays hidden and doesn't ask for his mother, they will get a certain number of points each day and they can win a great prize. The relationship between Guido and his son is very touching. Benigni's portrayal is one of an amazing parent who puts aside his own hunger, fatigue and fear of death to make sure life stays beautiful for his son.
Rating:
Summary: Contagiously Uplifting
Review: This is a very, very, very, very... I could go on forever... good movie. Roberto Begnini is so funny and happy, it just makes you smile, and even though it has a bittersweet ending, you walk away feeling very uplifted. Everyone who can read (the subtitles) and comprehend the atrocities of the holocaust should see this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Finding a meaning independent of the horror
Review: This visually stunning film does something quite interesting, and even refreshing, which hasn't seemed to have cropped up in cinema as of late: Benigni takes the setting of Europe in the grips of World War II, and uses the stark contrast of blind and outrageous hatred against the love and eternally solid bonds of family. This is not a film about the Holocaust, and thankfully so. Benigni does not bother to tackle questions like, "Why?" or "How?" but rather eliminates any attempts to be analytical or preachy: the viewers are left feeling redeemed, and more aware of the love they have in their lives. Far too often, movies and texts about the Holocaust seem to engage in a volley of one-upmanship, in a culture bombarded by all varieties of Holocaust literature and film, we have become almost desensitized to the true nature of the event, and even more important, the bigger picture. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL doesn't attempt to grab at our sympathy for Guido, or question motives, but is a fantastic reminder that the love, bonds, and people in our lives are the most important, and that with their love and caring, even the greatest of evil can be overcome.
Rating:
Summary: A comedy about the holocaust?
Review: I was sure that such a thing was impossible---a comedy set during the Holocaust and it would be good. Well, it wasn't good...it was GREAT! This lovely little movie is so charming and so sweet, I don't know how anyone could dislike it. I do realize that the star, Roberto Benigni, sometimes is over the top and tends to annoy some people but that is so far from the truth involving this film. We see his character meet a beautiful woman and his attempts to woo her. When they fall in love, marry and have a child, all seems perfect---until World War II and the beginning of the Holocaust. When he is taken, along with his son, to the concentration camps, it is so touching to see the lengths he goes to, as a father, to hide the truth of their actual situation. Roberto Benigni won an Oscar for his role and the film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Both were well deserved. I highly recommend this film.
Rating:
Summary: The most wonderful story ever
Review: One of the best films ever made is without a doubt Roberto Benigni's "Life is beautiful". This talented director and comic actor, first Oscar winning for best actor non-English speaker thought of a movie about a Jewish man called Guido who overcomes horror and pain thanks to the great and unbreakable love he has for his son. The story takes place in Mussolini's Italy during World War II, in which the German soldiers deported Jewish people of all ages into the concentration camps where they were killed in various horrible ways. The film itself is a combination of comicality, romanticism and a bit of realism, which creates a very profound story that touches the bottom of everyone's hearts. Guido, the optimist humorous man gets to know Dora in funny circumstances and both fall in love, marry and have one son. After that, the story takes a quick turn. Guido and his family were deported by German soldiers. While in the concentration camps, Guido decides to protect his child from the awaiting horrors by hiding his own fear and tiredness and keeping his humor and using his great imagination in order to convince his son that life is great, always trying to keep his son's dreams and desires awake. The idea of protecting a child's innocence is one of the most wonderful and profound ideas in the whole world, and that's what makes this story the most wonderful ever.
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