Life is Beautiful review

:. Director: Roberto Benigni
:. Starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
:. Running Time: 1:56
:. Year: 1997
:. Country: Italy




Just when you lose hope of ever having a movie emotionally affect you that isn't cheesy or doesn't involve lawyers, faith is restored by the Italians, who hooked me with the poetry of Il Postino a few years back.

Massimo Troisi and Roberto Benigni have deftly demonstrated their mastery of compassion and human spirit on the big screen. Life is Beautiful, co-written and directed by Roberto Benigni, is a unique treasure.This movie has been unfairly criticized in the U.S. for daring to use humor in a concentration camp setting, and a concentration camp that does not have a documentary feel to it, as in Schindler's List. First and foremost this is a love story. In the first half of the movie, it's a love between a man and a woman, tempered by humor. In the second half, it's the love of a man for his family. As the world around them changes, the family is suddenly ted and thrown into the camp. Benigni finds himself creating a fantasy world amidst a horrid one in order to convince his son that all this is just a game staged for his benefit, that winning the final prize will be worth enduring the harsh conditions.

Few films communicate such devotion and spirit;. Benigni's character conquers futility and offers his son hope through humor.


  Anji Milanovic


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