Visually stunning, but uneven. For me the second half was better than the first

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2009)

Before I eventually saw this film, I was not sure whether I was going to like it or not. While in general it is very highly regarded, there have been those who have said it is overrated or whatever. Just for the record, I did like the movie very much. It is uneven, and there were parts that didn't work as well as intended, but this is a brave and affectionate realisation of life during the Holocaust. I asked myself after watching Life is Beautiful, is it really overrated. Well, maybe a tad, but I can really see why people like this movie.
So what didn't make this film perfect? Well, as I have stated at least twice already, it is uneven. And in my humble opinion, the second half was better than the first. I just want to clarify that I didn't hate the first half. Some of it is very funny, but some of the slapstick humour didn't work as well as it should, namely eggs breaking on people's heads. It also works very hard, to provide charm. That is perfectly acceptable, but because there was a lot of charm in the performances and the production values it felt slightly overdone. Though I will say that Benigni's tribute to comedy greats like Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx was inspired.
The film changes tone to a more poignant, compelling and harrowing second half, that I think was much needed. While the character of Guido "amusingly" tries to convince his son Giosue that life in the concentration isn't so bad, the second half's tone has a lot of poignancy. Most notably Guido and Giosue trying to communicate to Dora over the loudspeaker, and the ending did have me in tears.
That said, there are a lot of truly good things about Life is Beautiful. For one thing, it is sumptuously filmed. The costumes look amazing and the Italian landscapes look breathtaking. (If there is one place that I would love, love, LOVE to go to it is Italy, not only for the food but for the opera as well.) The story is an effective and affectionate one, about a Jewish man who falls in love with the help of his humour, but has to do the same to protect his son in the Nazi concentration camp. The quality of the script, I saw the Italian version with English subtitles, is thoroughly decent, and hits more than it misses.
The performances are excellent in general. Roberto Benigni, one of Italy's favourite funny men, gives a admirable performance. He does overact at times in the first half but he appears a lot more subdued in the second. And I also thought he did a better job acting than he did directing. His direction once or twice in this film was a tad stodgy. Nicoletta Braschi is just stunning as Dora, she looked amazing in this movie and was solid in terms of acting. Giorgio Cantarini didn't always convince as Giosue though, there were times when he comes across as whiny and maybe I am being unfair but I have seen better child performances.
All in all, beautiful to watch, and a nice story. It is very pleasant to watch with a compelling and poignant second half, but there are flaws that bring it down from what could have been outstanding to just a film worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox