Where there is love and a smile, there is hope

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 1999)

This movie is not only about the Holocaust.
It is about surviving in a hostile world, that goes past hostile into crazy, with only wit and humor as a weapon.
It is about shielding the child you love more than life itself from realizing the unimaginable horrors surrounding it.
It is about letting your child inside loose in "normal" life and protecting you children from hostility and harm in an "abnormal" life.
It is about sacrificing oneself for the ones you love.
Roberto Benigni made me laugh and cry at the same time. This film touched me in many ways. With endless optimism Guido takes on the task of living his own life in a hostile world to say the least. When in a concentration camp with his son he uses stories and games and smiles to keep the HOPE alive.
We don't have to SEE the horror around them to FEEL it. The only time when horror is really shown, it is during a foggy surroundings and looks more like a painting. Knowing what is there is quite enough.
This movie made me think about all the people who did not survive the Holocaust. Maybe, and hopefully, some of them had their Guido to help them keep their HOPE alive till the end.
Bravo Roberto!