funny and disturbing

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2005)

Before I watched this film, I was a bit hesitant because the basic premise sounds so ridiculous--a man who uses humor and imagination to shield his son from the horrors of the holocaust while in a concentration camp! I mean, how can this movie be funny? Is this another "Hogan's Heroes" or what, I thought.
Well, first, most of the humor in the film occurs BEFORE the internment. This makes sense and allows the movie to be in good taste. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions with the silly buffoonery of Benigni as he tries to capture the heart of a woman he keeps "bumping into". These moments also abound with charm and seem rather reminiscent of the work of Chaplin--lots of physical humor and charm.
The second half of the movie does indeed take place in a prison camp. Occasionally, there were some mildly humorous moments but the goal was not a cheap laugh but were desperate attempts to convince the child that he should not give up hope. Despite the ludicrousness of the plot at this point (hiding a little boy in a men's dormitory in a prison camp), the way they explain it works out perfectly and should not offend or diminish from the horrors that were the holocaust.
This film, though VERY cleverly written, was carried by Benigni's marvelous acting. He rightly deserved the Oscar for Best Actor for all his charm, enthusiasm and magnetism.