an interesting premise sadly wasted

Rating: 5/10 (24 October 2000)

Life is Beautiful is based on an intriguing idea. The problem is that somewhere in the transition from brainstorm to actual movie the whole thing seems to have lost all sense of direction. Is Roberto Benigni trying to make a statement? Raise some questions? Or is it all an excuse for another overdone "oh I'm so cute and funny" performance? Sadly, I suspect it's mostly the latter. Has anyone noticed he won't deal with this movie seriously but rather resort to chair hopping, "I love you"s and other spectacles? Benigni's refusal to really discuss this movie and some of its more disturbing aspects bothers me. In fact, the whole movie bothers me. It could - and should - have been SO much better.
Saved (barely) by its clever idea, the sweet kid, and the scene with the tank at the end, this is really not great cinema.