Flawed, but still moving

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2012)

This violently divided critics, some of whom saw it as a masterpiece of humanity, and others who saw it as trivializing the holocaust. I'm with those in the middle.
There's a lot that's enjoyable and touching in the film, but also a certain amount that's too cute for the circumstances, or that screws up the story logic.
I like the basic idea that Benigni tries to protect his child's innocence by convincing him that the concentration camp they're in is some kind of psychotic summer camp. And when the convention works it's very powerful. But when it gets hard to believe (as when the Nazi's fail to discover the boy over a long period of time) it takes a lot of the power out of it's punch.
Still, some of the comic moments in the film's first half are gems, and while the dark 2nd half doesn't all work, it certainly gets points for trying. A film that's complex and confusing enough that I will re-see it.