One of the best movies I've ever seen

Rating: 9/10 (13 March 1999)

For those who have critcized "Life is Beautiful" for "making light" of the holocaust have missed the whole point of the film. The film was not intended to be a documentary of sorts about what horrors that were inflicted in concentration camps. The movie is about love and making the ultimate sacrifice for that love.
The "game" that Guido convinces his son about isn't intended to deceive the child. Though he was lying, he was doing it to protect his son's innocence at such a tender age. How else could you explain to a child, without absolutely traumatizing him, the horror and inhumanity of intense hatred? How would you tell a child that he will probably die simply because of his race? We have to see this movie through the eyes of a loving father who will not let hate rob he and his son of their inner joy, no matter what the circumstances are. In that respect they truly won by not letting their will be broken and their hopes be dashed.
Many of the people who dislike "Life is Beautiful" laud "Schindler's List" because it is a more serious film. Yes, "Schindler's List" was an excellent film but its focus was mostly on the violence of the holocaust. Just because Roberto Benigni didn't show people getting shot in mass quantities every 15-20 minutes, for 3 hours, doesn't make it any less effective in relating the experiecnce of the camps. I was very disturbed by the murders and violence in "Schindler's List" but I was actually moved by it only a few times. Eventually the people became nameless casualties that just piled up. You didn't know their stories and you could only guess their feelings.
To me, the main element that made "Life is Beautiful" so excellent is that it takes the focus off of the violence and gives us the emotions of the characters. I got to know Guido, Dora, and Joshua. I truly felt the emotions pouring out of their performances.
Many if us have gotten so used to everything being shown to us and spelled out in films that we've started to leave our brains behind. The horror and violence is only implied, but you should be able to use your head and read between the lines.
No, the movie is not based around the lightest period in history. But Benigni managed to show us that laughter can indeed be the best medicine, if only temporary.