Ambivalent

Rating: Null/10 (7 February 1999)

As a son of Holocaust survivors, I skip movies on this theme. This is a protective mechanism that I use to avoid painful emotions, but it has denied me the experience of such films as "Schindler's List".
"Life is Beautiful", I was told, is not a holocaust film. It is emotional, but deemed "safe". Well, I saw the film, and find myself strongly ambivalent about its message and content. I would love the oppurtunity to ask the creators: did you simply use the Holocaust as a convenient backdrop to your story? Was it just stage and scenery for the players (much like the opera depicted in the film)? Will others find similar Holocaust venues to fit their stories? I don't have the answer. I personally was hurt by the "Hogans Heroes" type story depicted in the second half of the film. I have been told by my own parents of painful yet poignant stories of parent and child in the Holocaust that contrast by their stark reality, to the fairy tale as depicted in the film. As stated at the top, I am ambivalent. The film serves our children well. More than any other film I have seen, it shows us, in a way a four year old understands, the absurdity of treating anyone, even "Visigoths and spiders", differently than we would want to be treated ourselves. The acting is impeccable, the music uplifting, and the audience walks out greater for having seen the movie. I only hope the success of this film does not give others the green light in using a very sad part of history in a way that lessens the memory of those who suffered through it.