Benigni a delight as Guido

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2006)

I'll always remember Roberto Benigni for the way he climbed over chairs to get to the stage at the Oscars. I couldn't imagine how a film about the Holocaust could include such a clown. But it makes perfect sense now. He was a clown before he and Joshua went to the concentration camp. And after he got there, his only concern was protecting Joshua from the reality. If "Stalag 17" and "Hogan's Heroes" can make fun of German POWs, why not a comedy about concentration camps? "Stalag 17" didn't completely ignore the seriousness of the situation. "M*A*S*H" is THE classic example of making light of something as serious as war in order to cope.
Guido was so funny every time he explained the game to Joshua. And when he "translated" from German. Brilliant writing there! Yes, the others knew he was making it up. I could tell from their faces.Even when Joshua heard other children had died, this clever man would not give up.
From time to time, Guido was shown facing the seriousness of his situation. Such as when he was ready to give up because he couldn't carry any more anvils. No, if it meant death, he would persevere! And still he showed his comic side, even then. I do wish he hadn't acted like such a clown even in that scene, simply because he wasn't quite convincing as a real person. But he was so entertaining, what did it matter? And he was serious enough when he had to be, when Joshua couldn't see it.
Every once in a while the concentration camp scenes took a dark turn. This was necessary, since we shouldn't ignore the tragedy.
The ending really affected me, but it wasn't all bad. The sad part was a necessity to show us this wasn't a joke.