Touching Comedy-Drama

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2013)

During WWII, a Jewish couple and its young son are sent to a concentration camp. Benigni won an Oscar for his wonderful portrayal of an eternal optimist. The film effectively blends humor with the atrocities of war, eventually proving to be a touching story. It is not necessarily believable but the sheer force of Benigni's personality is enough to allow one to go along for the ride. Braschi, Benigni's real-life wife, plays his wife while little Cantarini does well as the five-year old son who Benigni tries to shield from the horrors of the concentration camp. Buchholz, best remembered as an impetuous young member of "The Magnificent Seven," has one of his final roles here as an eccentric German.