A superb role performance by Roberto Benigni, who offers you true love and real happiness in the same beautiful package

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2007)

"La Vita é Bella" is a beautiful story about love, courage and life's little things. The movie tells about a man named Guido Orefice, who with his original personality falls in love with a schoolteacher Dora. Although Dora being currently with another man, Guido still fights for her and after 5 years he and Dora are married together and have a son, Giosué. While Guido is living his fairy tale life, not caring about the bad things in life, Italy is suddenly occupied by the German forces during the World War II. Guido and his son are taken to a concentration camp where Dora voluntarily follows them. In the camp men and women are naturally separated from each other, but Guido somehow finds a way to communicate with his wife and protect his son. Although the movie also tells about war and its sad consequences, it tells about it in a so beautiful and a happy way I've never seen before.
The one thing above everything else which makes this movie so astonishing is Roberto Benigni, who plays Guido and who is also the director and the second writer of the movie. The movie got 7 Academy Award nominations and won 3 of them, you don't hear a foreign movie doing that every day, so it's a pretty huge achievement I'd say. Roberto Benigni won the Oscar of the Best Actor in a Leading Role, an Oscar more than deserved indeed. I remember Benigni saying somewhere something like it's a pretty funny thing to win an Oscar from playing yourself. If Benigni is really like Guido, then we need more people like that in the world. The character of Benigni has this unique, vivid personality which can not be described. It's like he wants everyone else to feel better than himself and he cares about his wife and son more than himself. Although the character being slightly surreal Benigni does the impossible by making the character reality, making it so believable. He is so likable, sympathetic and simply happy in a way that just makes you smile throughout the movie. An amazing role performance indeed, if I'd have three thumbs I'd put them all up.
OK, if we forget about the main character in the movie the story isn't so original after all. A family driven apart during the war, forced into a concentration camp, doesn't sound so original anymore now does it? The movie pretty much hangs in the hands of the character Guido Orefice, which just makes the whole movie so brilliant, not forgetting the fantastic dialogue between the main character and other characters. This makes the screenplay very good, telling an already heard story which is always a treat for you if done well, but adding this overwhelmingly superior character to it, raising the whole movie from good to brilliant. This is complimented by the excellent music composed by Nicola Piovani, who won an Oscar from it as well. Adding so much more beauty to the story, making the funny and hilarious scenes also so dramatic and beautiful.
"La Vita é Bella" is all in all a brilliant film. It translates the sadness to happiness and beauty in an already mentioned way, a way that can not be described. The movie isn't just playing a fool on screen and getting some recognition from it, it's about true love and real courage evolving as we understand it. This is without a doubt all in all one of the happiest movies I've ever seen in my entire life. There is sort of mixed comedy and drama, but the real focus being on the drama after all, although the comedy side being absolutely hilarious and making you laugh. If someone succeeds in making you laugh and making you emotional at the same time that is always an achievement worth mentioning. This is a movie recommendation to everyone and for god sakes please watch the original Italian version, as I like to think that dubbed versions are more like a sin. Especially when the movie includes a role performance this amazing. Roberto Benigni is a genius.