This movie is a beautiful tale about love and family and the devastation of the Holocaust

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2013)

Life is Beautiful This funny movie tells the Holocaust in a different way. When a lovable and free spirited man (Guido) is traveling with his friend and runs into the love of his life (Dora), he feels the need to win her over. He bumps into the teacher at multiple places in town including at her school and is not afraid to make a fool out of himself to impress this woman. Finally when he wins her over, they get married and start a family. This family is broken up however when Guido and his charming son Joshua were taken by the Nazi people on Joshua's birthday. Dora follows her son and husband to the concentration camp where they were separated by men and woman and put to work. During the time at the camp, Guido convinced Joshua that they are playing a competitive game where if they score a certain amount of points, they can win a real tank. Guido also told him that he was in the lead but Joshua needed to stay hidden so he would not be taken to the gas chambers. Guido worked in the factories and was a waiter all to save his family. He would get on the loud speakers to announce to his beloved wife that they are safe and they miss her. In the end, the camp was being liquidated and Joshua had to stay hidden. Guido risked everything to see his love for one last time and was captured by the Nazis and was taken to a dark alley and was killed. Joshua came out of hiding and was found by an American Solder rolled up in a tank and Joshua got to ride in it. He got to ride in the tank and won his prize. He then was reunited with his mother and they lived happily ever after. It was the perfect ending to a very good movie.
The director of this movie, Roberto Benigni, was also the leading actor in this film and he won Best Actor at the Oscars. He was also nominated to win best Director Award at the Oscars. The scenes in this movie were captivating and painted a good picture about what the Concentration Caps were like during this time period. The movie was mostly a gray color which represented the gloom and despair that the people felt. The same effect happened to be in the graphic novel, Maus, by Art Spiegelman. He used a black and white color to show the gloom of this horrific event in history and he too wrote about survival and family. This movie also won the awards of Best Foreign Language Film and Best Music/Original Score. The use of long shots and close ups intertwined, allowed for a great deal of plot setting and ability to see the emotions in the actors faces. The fact that the director did a shadow effect added a nice touch as well. The actors who were not as important in the scene were a darker shade and the more important ones were lighter, brighter, and happier. I saw this same effect in the book, Maus. This film was an all around charming and emotional film about the Holocaust. It is a beautiful tale about family and love. It is one of the best films regarding the Holocaust that I have seen. Hats off to Roberto Benigni!