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Directed and Written By: Roberto Benigni
Produced By: Gianluigi Braschi
Scored By: Nicola Piovani
Starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, and Giorgio Cantarini
When I first saw this film, it blew me away. Holocaust movies before this always focused on the horrors of death camps and inhuman Nazis. But this one almpst poked fun at the whole ordeal. The story revolves around a Jewish father named Guido (Roberto Benigni with an incredible performance) in 1930's Germany. He is torn from his life and his wife as he is taken with his son to a concentration camp.
His son, however, doesn't seem to grasp the severity of situation. Guido, playing on his son's innocence, proceeds to make light of the terrible place they are in. Guido manages to hide his child and convince the boy that they are all contestants in an elaborate game. And thusly, and surely for the first time in holocaust film history, hilarity ensues.
But I don't want to give you the wrong idea, Benigni recognizes the humor can only be stretched so far in this sort of movie. At its heart, this is a story of the binding love a family shares with each other. It shows that that this love can conquer any foe. And Roberto Benigni was just... perfect.
MY FINAL GRADE: A+
La Vita è Bella
Directed and Written By: Roberto Benigni
Produced By: Gianluigi Braschi
Scored By: Nicola Piovani
Starring: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, and Giorgio Cantarini
When I first saw this film, it blew me away. Holocaust movies before this always focused on the horrors of death camps and inhuman Nazis. But this one almpst poked fun at the whole ordeal. The story revolves around a Jewish father named Guido (Roberto Benigni with an incredible performance) in 1930's Germany. He is torn from his life and his wife as he is taken with his son to a concentration camp.
His son, however, doesn't seem to grasp the severity of situation. Guido, playing on his son's innocence, proceeds to make light of the terrible place they are in. Guido manages to hide his child and convince the boy that they are all contestants in an elaborate game. And thusly, and surely for the first time in holocaust film history, hilarity ensues.
But I don't want to give you the wrong idea, Benigni recognizes the humor can only be stretched so far in this sort of movie. At its heart, this is a story of the binding love a family shares with each other. It shows that that this love can conquer any foe. And Roberto Benigni was just... perfect.
MY FINAL GRADE: A+