Life is Beautiful (1997-98) - La Vita e' bella: Italian translation

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2011)

Italian national treasure Roberto Benigni makes his greatest film ever with the story of making every day into a beautiful day, even if every day is a tragedy. The movie begins as a romantic comedy, where Benigni plays Guido, a charismatic waiter with a desire to make life beautiful, and then he falls in love with the girl of his dreams. Five years later, he lives a happily married life with a new son named Joshua. Then, the movie starts to enter dramatic proportions. Guido's fairytale life takes a serious turn, when he and his family are sent to the concentration camps during the Holocaust, and tries to show his son that this is just a simple game. He wraps up this beautiful message, and makes a beautiful movie called "Life is Beautiful". Now I think that since you are reading this, you might think this review is only in Italian. Well, the answer is 'no'. But here's what I have to say about the movie: although the movie was Italian, I can understand the deep and true heart to this story. Roberto Benigni arranges a great script, an excellent score by Nicola Piovani, and also arranges a hilarious performance for himself as the man who makes life beautiful. Also, the comedy in one half of the film, switches to a part of the film that takes place during the Holocaust, and that brings a dramedy charm to it. The film is a great portrait of family, courage, and imagination, and the movie is something I can watch again and again either in English or Italian. "Life is Beautiful", in my review, "beautifully meaningful, and contains a huge heart".