This 1997 Italian foreign film, Life Is Beautiful, (Italian: La vita è bella) was an international sensation and the most successful foreign language film in U.S. history. An inspired motion picture masterpiece, it was nominated for 7 Academy Awards — winning 3 Oscars, including one for Best Actor Roberto Benigni, who also directed and co-wrote the film. 

In this extraordinary tale, Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni) — a charming but bumbling waiter who’s gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor — has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family. But then, that life is threatened by World War II … and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate. Honored with an overwhelming level of critical acclaim, this truly exceptional, utterly unique achievement that can lift your spirits and capture your heart.

The first half of the movie is a whimsical, romantic comedy and often slapstick. Guido, a young Italian Jew, arrives in Arezzo where he sets up a bookstore. Guido is both funny and charismatic, especially when he romances Dora (Italian, but not Jewish; portrayed by Benigni’s actual wife, (Nicoletta Braschi), whom he steals – at her engagement – from her rude and loud fiancé. Several years pass, in which Guido and Dora have a son, Joshua (written Giosué in the Italian version; portrayed by Giorgio Cantarini). In the film, Joshua is around five years old. However, both the beginning and ending of the film is narrated by an older Joshua.

In the second half, Guido, Guido’s uncle Eliseo, and Joshua are taken to a concentration camp on Joshua’s birthday. Dora demands to join her family and is permitted to do so. In an attempt to keep up Joshua’s spirits, Guido convinces him that the camp is just a game – a game in which the first person to get 1000 points wins a tank. He tells Joshua that if you complain for hunger you lose points, while quiet boys who hide from the camp guards earn points. He convinces Joshua that the camp guards are mean because they want the tank for themselves and that all the other children are hiding in order to win the game. He puts off every attempt of Joshua ending the game and returning home by convincing him that they are in the lead for the tank. Despite being surrounded by rampant death and people and all their sicknesses, Joshua does not question this fiction both because of his father’s convincing performance and his own innocence.

Guido maintains this story right until the end, when – in the chaos caused by the American advance drawing near – he tells his son to stay in a sweatbox until everybody has left, this being the final test before the tank is his. After trying to find Dora, Guido is caught, taken away, and is shot by a Nazi guard, but not before making his son laugh one last time by imitating the Nazi guard as if the two of them are marching around the camp together. Joshua manages to survive, and thinks he has won the game when an American tank arrives to liberate the camp, and he is reunited with his mother.

Roberto Benigni walks a fine line mining comedy from tragedy and his efforts are pure fantasy–he accomplishes feats no man could realistically pull off–both of which have drawn fire from a few critics. Yet for all its wacky humor and inventive gags, Life Is Beautiful is a moving and poignant tale of one father’s sacrifice to save not just his young son’s life but his innocence in the face of one of the most evil acts ever perpetrated by the human race.

Benigni is Italy’s biggest movie star, adored for his unique brand of slapstick comedy. He’s worshipped by Italians everywhere, even in New York on the streets of Little Italy. But “Life Is Beautiful” is bringing him international fame. “It’s a real love story in an extreme situation,” says Benigni. “I was afraid of only one thing. I was afraid to offend the memory of survivors on Jewish people, which I respect so much.” Benigni, who is not Jewish, consulted with Jewish groups in Italy while making “Life Is Beautiful.” “I would like to tell that I was really loved, with the simplicity,” Benigni says. “What is more simple than to tell to a little boy, ‘This is not the truth, it is a game?'”

“Life Is Beautiful” is not, insists Benigni, a comedy about the Holocaust; it’s a movie by a comedian about the Holocaust. The character he plays might horse around, but the Holocaust is never trivialized. “There’s been some people, not a lot, but some people who felt in a very, very strong way, like I touched something untouchable,” Benigni says. “The last thing I wanted was to hurt somebody or be offensive with the memory of the Holocaust, because I started from the opposite idea, of course. I wanted to make a beautiful movie, and especially to say something poetic.”

Uncertain of what the public reaction might be, Benigni was initially frightened by his concept for the film, and he resisted it for years. “I loved immediately the idea, but I was scared, and I tried to write something different. But I could not stop thinking about this idea — a happy man in a concentration camp.”

Guido is asked to “translate” the concentration camp rules to Italian. (He pretends to understand German)

Did you see the shoes ?

Life Is Beautiful – trailer

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deletereply tulipsinspring wrote on Jun 18, ’08 This is one of the most brilliant movies I’ve ever seen! It is amazing how it combines comedy and tragedy, and it made me cry. I won’t give anything away by saying what parts did it, but I’ve seen this movie a bunch of times, and I cry every time. It is amazing how it uses some element of comedy to show what a horror happened … just a great, great film. I remember when he won the Oscar, the way he jumped on the seats. This man is pure charm, and this movie is just plain brilliant. Great choice!

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Jun 18, ’08 Cathy, thank you for your comment. This film is a great example of the strengh of the human spirit overcoming tragedy.

deletereply philsgal7759 wrote on Jun 18, ’08 Love it I really wantt to see it

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Jun 18, ’08 Narice, definitly see it. You could probably rent it. It’s worth seeing !

deletereply skeezicks1957 wrote on Jun 23, ’08 This is one I want to find and watch.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Jun 23, ’08 Hi skeezicks, yes, I would highly recommend this film.