Well acted, well-written -- this is a Beautiful film!

Rating: 10/10 (9 April 1999)

Prepare yourself for an uplifting, heartbreaking experience! Roberto Benigni is priceless as an Italian Jew who uses humor to protect his young son from the evils of the Holocaust. Yes, the movie is a comedy, and the opening scenes are deceptively light-hearted. But as the story unfolds, the film makes startling use of humor to increase its emotional impact, rather than to shy away from the dark issues it addresses. The depictions of the concentration camps are not graphic -- this isn't "Schindler's List" -- but the film can still be painful to watch at times. The clever script also provides plenty of laughs, and the emotions which the film evokes never seem to be weakened by the presence of subtitles! In a world that produces films like this, you'll leave the theatre agreeing, "Life is Beautiful"!