Review of Life Is Beautiful (1997) by Liam C — 13 Apr 2014

Life is Beautiful really is beautiful and I really can't fault it very much at all. The film very much is a tale of two halves but I liked them both. The film gave us a reason to care about the characters because it shows us their daily lives before the holocaust not to say I wouldn't care about them if we didn't know about their stories because anybody subjected to that treatment is unspeakable but its nice to show that effort was made and this film is nothing but effort.

Roberto Benigni is the definition of funny, I don't know how anyone can say that they don't like him, seeing him in any film just makes me want to smile, he's just so lovable and he gave a captivating performance that he won an Oscar for, he truly deserved it.

It would have been doubly awesome if he won Best Director or even Best Picture! But alas it wasn't meant to be. Saving Private Ryan and Shakespeare in Love won those accolades, the first making sense and the second being highly debatable but nonetheless.

.. Benigni's actions are funny when they're meant to be and just heartwarming when he's meant to be romantic. I really liked the relationship in this movie which was with his real wife, which might have helped.

The scenes in the camp where he is trying to connect with his wife again with the aid of music are some of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen in a film. The movie has a beautiful innocence to it, which might sound insulting but the film is in fact told from a child's point of view so it makes sense and why does every film have to live to a convention? Its impressive that a film like this could be made, let alone be as good as it is, a comedy about the holocaust? It just sounds like suicide but it works.

The only scene that I could find that could be potentially offensive is when Benigni is translating a speech to his Italian prisoners. He is translating something very shocking and deadly and making it into a speech about points, but again, its all done for his child, although I will admit I was biting my nails throughout that whole scene.

The only thing I can really take fault with is the fact we don't really see any of the effects it has on Guido, sure he makes everything all fun and games for his child but when he's alone, sure he complains but sometimes it just seems like he's unaware of what is going on but the his pure of heart made the movie, his last scene was exceptionally heart breaking but well done.

And maybe some of the movie was unbelievable, like when he speaks into the microphone, it was a beautiful scene but maybe stretching the truth a little, but he never makes the concentration camps seem like a fun time or anything.

Amazing movie, highly recommended.