Artful blend of tragedy and comedy is a testimony to the human spirit...

Rating: 8/10 (1 December 2006)

If someone had told me that a genuinely moving story of a Jewish father and son who end up in a German concentration camp could manage to sustain such an artful blend of humor and tragedy, I wouldn't believe them. Then again, think of the popular success Americans have seen on TV in the shape of the enormously successful comedy HOGAN'S HEROES which takes place in a prison camp. Or the bittersweet irony of Billy Wilder's STALAG 17 with its blend of comedy and drama.
But what ROBERTO BENIGNI has accomplished here surpasses all expectations on just how extraordinary this sort of material can be when executed with such wit, wisdom and humor and--even more importantly--without offending anyone with such controversial subject matter.
The first part of the film is full of abundant humor as it chronicles the romance of the Jewish man and his sweetheart. Midway the tone of the film shifts to a darker element as the man, his wife and the young son are placed in a concentration camp. The husband is so determined that his son will be shielded from the stark realities around them that he pretends it's all a game. Benigni is a man of such irrepressible spirit that it makes the film's ending even more poignant.
He deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar in '97 and the film itself was voted Best Foreign Film. The delightful score by Nicola Piovani won still another Oscar.
Summing up: A fable, delightfully written and produced with an unforgettable performance by Roberto Benigni. Who can forget his joy on Oscar night when he bounded over the tops of seats to reach the stage and accept his Oscar?