i remember hearing about this film when it first appeared at cannes over a year ago , picking up the grand jury prize at the festival . ' holocaust comedy receives standing ovation ' , the headlines read .
intrigued by this statement , i looked up information on the film and found that , sure enough , life is beautiful is in fact a comedy about the greatest atrocity of the last thousand years .
even though the movie was extremely well - received by critics and public alike
, i could n't help but be disgusted at this notion ; human tragedy is not something i feel should be celebrated .
only now do i see the error of my ways .
after finally viewing the film for myself after avoiding it for some time , it became clear that it is not , as the headlines proclaimed , a " holocaust comedy " ; on the contrary , life is beautiful does not even really depict the graphic events that took place in nazi deathcamps .
rather , it focuses on the relationship between a father and his son , who he is trying desperately to shield from the horrors of their situation .
roberto benigni ( who also wrote and directed the movie ) stars as guido orefice , a chaplin - inspired clown and all round jolly guy who , as the film opens , is vying for the affections of an attractive school teacher ( nicoletta braschi , benigni real life spouse ) .
through the course of the first hour or so , we see guido striving to get the attention of this " beautiful princess " , as he calls her .
employing the magic of laughter , the italian comedian wins her heart and together , they raise a young boy named giosue ( child actor giorgio cantarini ) .
life treats them well until hitler 's minions rise to power , and the family is whisked away to a german camp , where guido becomes convinced that he must upholds his son 's innocence no matter what the sacrifice .
granted , it contains some uproariously funny moments both in and out of the concentration camp , but it does not pull a " hogan 's heros " and make light of the slaughtering of some six million innocent jews . somehow , it achieves hilarity without disrespecting it 's gravely serious subject .
so , we 've established that life is beautiful
is not a " holocaust comedy " .
but , there is another complete misrepresentation of this material that really disturbs me .
the film , despite critic 's declarations of it being a " triumph of the human spirit " , is no such thing ; not in my eyes , anyway .
some have called the story an " affirmation of the beauty of life " , but i say it is a very dark and bleak statement about man 's capability of denial masquerading as an endearing comedy .
the film 's ending has been recognized as the most entirely uplifting moment of any film released recently , but i found it to be truly discerning and upsetting .
essentially , life is beautiful is quite possibly the greatest hoax in the history of film .
however , i am not denying the movie 's greatness .
believe me , it 's fantastic .
i 'm just saying that i think benigni did something different than what most people are interpreting it as .
but perhaps i 'm reading more into the movie than is really there .
maybe
the film 's brilliance relies on the idea that the viewer can interpret the meaning of it in any way they see fit .
in fact , maybe roberto benigni has made a film that is the sole argument for the old saying that you get out of a movie exactly what you put into it .
the movie was extremely well - received by critics and public alike it contains some uproariously funny moments it achieves hilarity without disrespecting it 's gravely serious subject i am not denying the movie 's greatness . believe me , it 's fantastic the film 's brilliance