Life is Beautiful

Roberto Benigni’s  La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful, 1997) is one of my all time favorite films because (excuse the cliché) it is, quite simply, a beautiful film. The story is heartwarming and original (won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film), the acting is wonderful (Benigni, who also plays the main character, won the Oscar for Best Actor) and the score is superb (Nicola Piovani won an Oscar for the Best Original Dramatic Score).  It is a wonderful balance of comedy and tragedy and will make you laugh and cry from both tears of joy, and grief.

The story is essentially split into two parts, the first involving our hero, Guido (Roberto Benigni) attempting to romance his “principessa,” an engaged schoolteacher, Dora (Nicoletta Braschi). The comedy and romance is perfectly done, and the chemistry between the real-life couple is lovely to watch. Dora falls in love with Guido’s charm and good heart, and the story skips ahead 5 years to their life together with their son Giosue (Guido and Dora disappear into a greenhouse when he finally wins her over, and seemingly a few moments later, out comes a little boy, it was a great way to show the passing of time). This is where the “heartwarming” description might get confusing, for we are now introduced to the fact that this isn’t a romantic comedy, but a Holocaust drama. Yes, it is a drama due to the intense subject matter, but it is still a comedy as well and is successful in that aspect without belittling the tragic nature of the Holocaust. Guido is in fact a Jewish man, and him and Giosue are taken away to a concentration camp and Dora follows suit, even though she is not Jewish, because she refuses to be separated from her family.

            Guido spends their time at the camp protecting Giosue from the horror by pretending that they are competing in a game where the grand prize is a real-life tank and succeeds in hiding him from the Nazis (while the other children are taken to the gas chambers). Roberto displays his comedic prowess with his slapstick techniques and despite the horrors surrounding them it is heartwarming to watch his determination to protect is son’s innocence. The love he has for his family gives him courage. One scene is particularly touching and is helped through the beautiful score by Nicola Piovani: Guido risks his life to communicate to his wife that he is okay by playing their song on a phonograph, and we watch as time pause as the two of them think of one another. The spirit of this original screenplay is extremely uplifting, showing the power of love and hope even in the darkest of times. It does not mean to belittle the Holocaust in any way, but is a story about hope and the message of love is what is relayed. To Giosue (at the time, for we hear at the end the story being told by an adult Giosue who speaks of his father’s sacrifice) the Holocaust wasn’t real, but it was to the audience as we still see the horrific reality in the conditions of the camp and the fact that this evil is splitting up this beautiful family. We could see that it certainly real for Guido and Dora, however. Guido is making his son laugh up until the very end, when the camp is being shut down amidst chaos as the Americans approach. Guido tells Giosue to hide in a sweatbox until everybody is gone (the last act, and then they win the tank) and is caught while he attempts to find Dora. Giosue watches as his father marches away in an exaggerated goose-step for his enjoyment, despite the fact that Guido knows he is marching to his death (Guido is killed off screen). Giosue comes out when the camp is empty and is rescued by American soldiers in a tank. During his ride home, he spots his mom in the line of rescued prisoners screaming: “We won!” and Piovani’s score is just perfect in evoking the right emotion (pretty much making you bawl your eyes out). The sacrifice Guido made for his family is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, and the message of the film is in the title: life is beautiful. You can not watch Life is Beautiful and leave without that message, and Benigni is the mastermind behind it all, having written, directed, and starred