There are two kinds of laughter: Honesty and Ignorance.

Rating: 1/10 (2 February 1999)

Life is beautiful, but man is not. I felt strange as I left the theater for this movie, I was impressed by the imagination that poignantly proved that love and the human spirit could conquer all, even during the worst of times. The trouble was that the worst of times was the Holocaust in an Italian concentration camp, and I kept thinking - this is terrible! As time goes on and the Holocaust becomes a thing of history, and as less survivors are alive to remember the travesty that mankind let occur, Benigni is being praised for making a film that DOES trivialize some very serious subject matter. History that is only half a century old. I think the film itself is a noble and creative effort, much like the characters in the film, but the cartoonish depiction of genocide and desperation did not sit well with me. The audience I was with laughed and cried on cue. They were manipulated. Just like the Nazi's were manipulated in Germany. I'm sure Benigni's intentions were noble, but noble intentions don't merit unconditional praise and Academy Awards. Maybe we should feel good for the child that was saved form the horror of his situation, and then maybe we should pity him for his ignorance. I'm not so sure, but I'm not laughing and crying on cue. I didn't hate this film, but I don't understand how one could love it.