Utterly magnificent, not a single flaw

Rating: 10/10 (28 April 2004)

No *wonder* Russell Crowe missed out on best actor...
Not knowing a great deal about this one besides the fact Benigni won best actor, I decided to get it on a whim.
To say I was not disappointed is an understatement.
Life is Beautiful is about a charismatic and quite loveably affable waiter by the name of Guido who manages to capture the woman of his dreams and the life of his fantasies. Life is indeed beautiful. Until, that is, the second world war begins and due to his religion of judaism he finds that society begins to condemn his people - this is something which he tries to hide from his son by putting on a facade of explanations as to why people are behaving why they are towards his family. When the family is shipped off to a concentration camp this front is tested to the limit, by Guido maintains it throughout to hide the true horrors of war from his son.
To say that Benigni is outstanding would do him no justice - he's every inch worth his oscar, and commands the screen superbly. He conveys a man of pure heart who loves his family and people in general, and who bounces off everyone without being irritating. He keeps his spirit no matter what happens in his life, and this is reflected by events in the concentration camp.
The rest of the players truly are top notch too, such as Nicoletta Braschi as his wife who is perfectly understated - this, really, is Benigni's show and she gracefully gives him centre-stage.
Throughout, the story uses comedy immeasureably well, and contains plenty of extremely humourous moments. It even manages them in the concentration camp in a way which never hides the seriousness of such a place but which smarts as bitter sweet. Again, the centre of all comedic moments is Benigni.
As well as being amusing, his character is completely believable - he is so convincing as the kind of man there are too few of - completely good, through and through. His only vice is stealing another man's bride, but she wasn't happy in that relationship anyway!
I fail to mention the quality of the direction and storytelling - the direction is perfect and never fails to keep you hooked to the screen - we feel a part of this world. The storytelling, or narrative, is top notch too - not for one second is this close to being boring, or daft, or unbelievable.
There is much more I could say, so I'll finish by stating you really should see this one.
Immense.