When sometimes, it's worth risking losing life not to lose the very faith in life ...

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2011)

"Life is Beautiful" divide opinions in the most extreme ways, either you love or hate it. It's famous or infamous for having depicted the 'Holocaust' from the perspective of a father who wants to get the Nazi atrocities off the sight of his five-year old son, Josue. Guido would pretend that everything is a game, and Nazis only rhyme with baddies which Josue must hide from and follow his Dad's instructions to win the 1000-point prize: a real tank.
We live the horror of the concentration camp from both Guido and Josue's point of view in a bittersweet duality of death and life, sorrow and smile, survival and fun. It's certainly the gutsiest screenplay ever written for the parallel it traced between one of the most horrifying historical events and its translation as a game. And I can't understand why many people fail to ignore the point of Guido's actions. I love what Ebert said about the film: if Guido had weapons, he would have shot the enemy, if he had an Army, he would have wipe the Nazis out  but all he had is what his Ancestors called in Latin, 'Vis Comica' (comical force).
The film divides and is divided in two parts. The first is set during Italy's fascist days where we meet in a sunny and joyful ambiance a modern clown named Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni), a character that immediately touches your heart, a man with a communicative appetite for life and laughs: the epitomes of his personal philosophy wonderfully conveyed by Nicola Piovani's score. The delightful lightness of life resonates like Nino Rota's music from Fellini's neo-realistic period. The whole film carries many references to Italian cinema's heritage, the sight of Guido and Dora (Nicoletta Braschi) romantically riding the bike reminds of Rizzi and his wife in the "Bicycle Thief" -when the bicycle meant new hopes for the Family- and like De Sica's masterpiece, the film's second part focuses on a poignant father-and-son relationship.
"La Vita e Bella": even the title is a sort of emphasis on "La Dolce Vita", as if sweet was too feeble a word to describe the inner value of life. Indeed, it takes some real genius to embrace life with such a never-ending optimism, Guido is the perfect antidote against the venomous effect of desperation and he's so convincing that he manages to seduce the beautiful Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), promised to marry a Fascist civil servant... until Guido comes and takes her away like a Charming Prince. The whole first act has the feeling of a fairy tale where we discover Guido, his uncle Eliseo and his German Doctor friend with whom he likes to play riddles. The film begins with a comedic triumph that consecrates Benigni as a modern Chaplin, with the foreshadowing of coming tears when we learn that Guido is Jewish.
The change of mood from the second act is so abrupt that it accentuates the feeling of discomfort. Cinematically speaking, "Schindler's List"' is a superior film but we expect a movie with dark and unbearable scenes, we're like mentally prepared. In "Life is Beautiful", it catches us off-guard: after so many laughs, there is a long dramatic transition that even Guido's admirable nerves can't hide. We all know what would happen to Uncle Eliseo when he goes to the 'shower', and the moment when he prevents the Nazi woman officer from falling creates a tragically ironic situation. In the Camp's women section, a little gray cat goes around a pile of women's clothes lying on the floor while he was held earlier by a little girl on the trunk that send the Jews to the train station ...
That part is difficult to watch and we're almost glad when laughs are back, when Guido translates the instructions barked by a fat Nazi officer: pure comedic genius! We prefer to see the horror from Josue's view not as a denial, but as a ferocious attachment to the idea of no matter the adversity we face and hardship we endure, while there's life, there's hope; and Josue is the incarnation of this hope for Guido. And when Guido meets the German doctor and tries to seek his help in the Camp, the Doctor's answer leaves Guido shocked and appalled. His face of disbelief is the proof, that Guido is not acting as a clown, all his smiles, games and plays are for Josue.
It's all about Josue indeed, and it's certainly with him in mind that Dora, though a gentile, sacrificed her freedom for the camp. In of these ironical twists, Guido would lose his life by trying to find Dora, and knowing his son is watching him, he walks in a comical way before being shot off-screen, off Josue's sight, the gunshots were one of the most disturbing sounds I've ever heard in a film. The day after, Josue would finally win the tank and find his mother; his scream of joy in his Dora's arm is not just the triumph of Guido's sacrifice, but the triumph of hope. And God how I cried in that scene
Why do some clever users seem eager to shortcut their emotional reactions in the name of cold rationalism? I'm less questioning their intelligence than their ability to think beyond their intelligence. After all, when the same side says "Not another movie about the Holocaust!' and "The movie trivializes (or sugarcoats) the Holocaust", maybe we should consider that the greatness of Roberto Benigni's Oscar-winning film relies somewhere between these two interpretations. To challenge Guido's legendary optimism and faith in life, "Life is Beautiful" needed one hell of a tragedy.
"A picture with a smile-and perhaps, a tear." said a too modest Chaplin about his masterpiece "The Kid". And after watching "Life is Beautiful", no matter how many smiles, how many laughs and how many tears Roberto Benigni expected me to experience I know I lost track.