Poor taste

Rating: 7/10 (27 July 1999)

I went to see La Vita è bella when it was first released, in Italian, and knew nothing of the plot. I loved the first half. Typical Benigni, a clown that tries to win over the charms of a pretty woman (his wife in real life, as usual). It was the same sort of thing as many of his films, e.g. Johnny Stecchino. I'd give it a nine for the first half. But then the second half left me horrified. I suppose it was meant to. I wasn't expecting it. While I recognize how well made the film was, I just can't see how you can make a film half comedy and half holocaust. It was meant to make you laugh and then cry, and so it did, so I guess it was a success from that point of view. But sorry folks, I'd rather watch Johnny Stecchino when I want to laugh and then Schindler's List when I want to see a harrowing story of the holocaust. Putting them together for me was in very very very poor taste.