Simply magical

Rating: 10/10 (6 September 2002)

I have resisted commenting on what I feel just may be the greatest
film of all time. But in light of the lengthy comment by "Francis A.
Breen, Jr., M.D.", I feel compelled.
This film is real in a way that documentary films and history texts
can never be. The simple reason is that it is far too dangerous for
those two mediums to take such a slant on the holocaust subject.
the reality, as Mr. Breen fails to recognize, is that the human
beings who were affected by the holocaust (and other people in
other imprisoned and tortured situations) needed to and did retain
their humanity, their dignity and...yes... their sense of humour.
Humour has always been a great "equalizer" in these situations.
Many holocaust survivors and other POW's tell tales of how they
used humour as a survival tool... and I feel that it is a vitally
important one. Thankfully Roberto Benigni had the guts and need
to put that element of humanity on film. I, for one, feel that he did it
effectively, with dignity and humanity. I am offended that anyone
would give so little credit to the human spirit as to suggest that in
times of tragedy we all just roll over and give our improsoners
what they want. Human will is stronger than that and the best
chance we have of retaining our humanity and sanity is to not
succumb to the emotions that those captors expect and revel in.
This film is beautiful, important and TRUE. It shows us, our
ancestors and our children that we can do more by staying "alive"
then we can by rolling over. It also contains a wonderful message
of sacrifice - if only we all could imagine giving so much for our
children and the next generation as a whole.
Maybe somebody gained a little perspective by seeing this film.
Maybe someone learned to believe in the human spirit. Maybe
someone joined Amnesty International so it will never happen
again. Maybe someone just looked at loving their child a little
differently. This movie had to be made and it had to made the way
it was. I thank Mr. Benigni for making it. It is more than "a movie",
it is pure poetry. Life IS Beautiful... all life. If you can get that
across in 2 hours, then that is powerful film making and there are
better people on the planet right now for having seen it.