The Best Movie - A must-see for everyone!

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 1999)

If you haven't seen this movie, you are missing out on the experience of a lifetime! This film captures a truly beautiful spirit and presents a sample of the powerful effect a loving man and father can have on those around him, even under the most horrifying circumstances. What a wonderful world this would be if more people could be like Guido! This masterpiece combines a charming love story with a very serious and touching story of a father's efforts to protect his young son from the horrors of the Holocaust. Bittersweet humor is carefully sprinkled throughout the film to make it possible to watch and smile through tears as you witness a very touching and tragic portrayal of one family's experiences.
For those who have reviewed the film here with distaste and shock over what you think the film is saying about Jews and the Holocaust - Get Over It! Guido is never presented as the model Jew or even the practicing Jew, but rather an extra-ordinary man who approaches all aspects of his life (from as small as a rain storm to as huge as the Holocaust) with the most incredible attitude and interest in actively making life beautiful! Guido should remind us that the Nazis captured all Jews because of how they were born, not whether they were practicing or not. (Some may be aware that people who where not Jewish were also killed and tortured during the Holocaust for trying to help Jews or for being considered gypsies or mentally/ physically unwell.) Benigni has simply presented a different approach to telling of the horrors of the Holocaust. Never does he imply that this is a documentary or completely factual. He does create powerful scenes that will make your heart stop (Guido lost in the camp finds a tower of bodies hidden only by fog) and cause your soul to ache (Guido's wife realizes that she is separating the clothing of the dead and frantically searches fearing to find her own sons clothes). Don't miss the message by too critical and defensive!
This film was undoubtedly the best film of 1999, unfortunately, the Academy Awards judges could not bring themselves to award a Foreign film with the Best Picture award and chose instead to give the award to the second best film - Shakespeare in Love.