"Nothing is more necessary than the unnecessary".

Rating: 9/10 (4 January 2015)

Remember when Roberto Benigni's name was announced as winner of the Best Actor Oscar? He was literally jumping out of his skin to be declared the winner. It perfectly resonated with the character he portrayed in "Life is Beautiful". Now I understand why he was so excited, as I hadn't seen the film until now.
Not knowing anything about the story, I thought the first half of the movie was wonderfully whimsical and creative, especially with the way Guido managed to manipulate outcomes in his quest to win Dora (Nicoletta Braschi). The writing for these sequences was genuinely inspired with priceless comic touches that warm the heart. The Prince wins his Princess and all is well in the world.
I wasn't quite sure how to process events in the second half of the movie, knowing that such antics as displayed by Guido could certainly never have occurred in a Nazi concentration camp. But I kept coming back to an early statement Uncle Elisio (Giustino Dorano) made to Guido quoted in my summary line above. Perhaps the second half of the film is totally unrealistic, but it was necessary for the film makers to get away with this technique to make their case for finding and keeping hope in an impossible situation. Not only did Guido insure that his young son Joshua (Giorgio Canterini) would survive the ordeal, but actually flourish in a hostile environment until the war ended.
If I had my preference, Guido would have survived the concentration camp as well since this is a fictional story. But perhaps it's better that some heartbreak was mingled with the joy of Joshua reuniting with his mother. The ending reinforces the idea that joy and sorrow both exist in the world for everyone in different degrees and at different times and that life is not a hopeless condition. Rather a journey to be lived to the fullest with freedom secure in one's own heart.