Great Movie that adds a Unique Atmosphere

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2013)

Life is Beautiful tells the story of a humorous man named Guido who is a waiter in Italy during the 1930s. He quickly runs into the love of his life Dora and becomes enemies with her fiancé. While waiting at the hotel he becomes friends with a German doctor who shares riddles with Guido throughout their friendship. Fast forward 5 years later and Guido and Dora have been married and have a son Joshua. Eventually the Nazis come into play by rounding up the Jews including Guido and Joshua, but until this point in the movie there is hardly any sign that the holocaust is around the corner. Dora isn't forced to go, but instead chooses to board the train out of love and loyalty of her family. Throughout the rest of the movie Guido fools Joshua into thinking they are playing a game and the winner gets a real live tank for themselves. He does this to shelter him from the horrors around him and it makes for some very humorous and sweet moments that lighten up the mood during such a depressing time.
Despite taking place during the holocaust, this movie for the most part has a lighter almost humorous atmosphere at times. This has a positive effect on the movie, but makes it seem a little fictional at times. Some of the things Guido does such as speaking into the loud speaker are funny, but seem a little to implausible considering the way the Jews were actually treated. I don't mind the change in atmosphere as it makes the movie stick out from most holocaust driven movies.
In some ways this movie uses the same techniques as in the book I recently read called Maus, which tells of a man's journey through the holocaust in the form of a graphic novel. One in particular is when Joshua comes out of his hiding spot and everyone is gone it shows a form of isolation by a long shot of a desolate place except for Joshua who has nowhere to go. This technique is also used in the book Maus on page 125, frame 5 shows Vladek and Anja walking away from trouble and the author uses a long shot to show that they don't really have anywhere to go and are all alone. All in all I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see an above average comedy that shows a less intense view of the holocaust.