Magnificent!

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2003)

Contains some detailed information
Roberto Benigni definitely grabs attention in the late 1990s Italian film, `La Vita Ã¨ bella,' known in English as `Life is Beautiful.' In addition to directing and writing, Benigni is the main star of the film.
The film can be said to be composed of two main parts-the first is pure comedy to the point of absurdity, and the second is dead serious with a touch of comedy. At first, the comedy that Benigni uses seems as if he is trying to showcase his own talents. But the comedy is put to good use during the second half of the film as Benigni, who plays Guido Orefice, must use comedy and imagination to protect his son, Joshua, from the horrors of being confined in a Nazi concentration camp. The two parts of the film also highlight two different time periods-the first part takes place in the 1930s, while the second part occurs around 1945. Although hints of anti-Jewish sentiment appear in the first part of the film, the majority of the first part is focused on living life in a spontaneous way. For example, at the very beginning of the film, Guido finds himself in a car without breaks, flying through the countryside until the car goes off the side of the road near a small farm. While at the farm, a lady falls out of the barn on top of him, to which he replies, `What kind of place is this? It's beautiful: Pigeons fly, women fall from the sky! I'm moving here!' During the rest of the first half of the movie, Guido keeps running into `Principessa,' the name he gives Dora (Nicoletta Braschi). Many of the `unexpected' meetings between the two are planned by Guido. Some film critics love `Life is Beautiful' while others are disappointed or even offended by the film. Roger Ebert is a good example of a critic who enjoyed the film: '`Life Is Beautiful' is not about Nazis and Fascists, but about the human spirit. It is about rescuing whatever is good and hopeful from the wreckage of dreams. About hope for the future. About the necessary human conviction, or delusion, that things will be better for our children than they are right now.' I give this movie a 9 out of 10.