Fantastic movie... why some people do not look at it the right way?

Rating: 10/10 (11 February 1999)

One thing must be clear about "la vita e' bella": it's not a movie about the holocaust!!! All those people that fell "offended" by this movie should have a less biased look to it. The Holocaust is intended to be, like in a fable, the SYMBOL of evil. And in a fable you don't need to be crude or realistic, you only need to understand the true message this movie gives us: love can beat evil! In every situation, love and a true smile (life is beautiful) can shield innocence from being corrupted from evil. And it is possible to die still smiling and playing this wonderful game that life is... and human dignity still remains alive! Some people criticize the fact that the prison camp in unreal (but some believe it's in Italy, where no nazi prison camp ever been made!), but all the movie is symbolic and "unreal"... it's a fable where we can laugh and cry together, where we can "feel" the power of life and love. Many Israel people have understood this message, and they loved the movie. I did! One of the best movies of the century! Just one more information: Benigni's father was imprisoned in a nazi camp, and when were asked from his child to tell his story, he invented a sort of fable... from this memory the idea of the movie came to Benigni... to tell how love can shelter a child from horror!
Ciao