Life is Beautiful (Widescreen)

This is one of the best and most creative films ever made. Totally inventive in concept, the story revolves around an exuberant and romantic Italian man named Guido, who also happens to be Jewish. He sweeps the woman of his dreams,his "Principessa", off her feet. They marry and have an adorable little boy whom they dearly love. Unfortunately, this all happens during World War II in fascist Italy.

Ultimately, Guido and their son are whisked away to a concentration/work camp on their young son's birthday. Meanwhile, his wife and the boy's mother, coming home and expecting to find a birthday celebration in progress, discovers, instead, that the inevitable has occurred. She tracks them down to the train that is taking prisoners to a work camp and, after confirming that they are on board, insists upon boarding the train herself, so that she may remain close to them. They see her board the train and know that she is with them.

In order to get his son through this horror as best he can, Guido tells his son that they are involved in a real life game to win a tank, knowing that the boy had wanted a toy tank for his birthday. Talk about a reality survival game! In any case, his son is young enough to fall for it and gets with the program as only the very young can. What follows is a series of inventive scenarios which tells the viewer of the lengths that the father goes in order to keep his son quiet, obedient, entertained, and safe from harm. All along, the father has his son believing in the game and playing to win, to the point that the boy believes that they are actually in first place to win the tank.

While this may sound like an odd venue in which to find oneself laughing, that is exactly what the viewer does. At the same time, the film is achingly poignant, and the end is infinitely sad. Guido is played to perfection by comedic star and filmmaker Roberto Benigni, who also directed this masterpiece. His on screen wife and comedic foil is played by his real life main squeeze, Nicoletta Braschi. The son is played with wondrous innocence by the totally adorable Giorgio Cantarini. This is an award caliber film that saw Benigni deservedly capture Oscars for Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film.

All in all, this film will leave the viewer both laughing and crying. It is simply a great movie. Bravo!

Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful" is an outstanding movie. The movie combines comedy, romance and the Holocaust which could have backfired easily, but he pulls it off superbly. It won the hearts of people across the world. The story is one of an Italian Jewish waiter who bumps into an Italian woman and wins her heart. The movie can almost be broken into two parts, the first part full of mirth and the second part dark and depressing. A lot of people who have the DVDs refuse to see the second part (with good reason).

I asked a number of holocaust survivors how they felt about the movie. Most of the them found it beautiful, they realize that it is unrealistic but the fantasy in it moved them. Of course, there were some people who did not accept it as the scars in them were too deep. But such things are to be expected. However, if one watches the DVD extras and sees the effect in the Simon Wiesenthal center, one sees that this movie has an overall positive impact among a lot of the Holocaust survivors. As far as Steven Spielberg not liking it, well, he may be a gifted director, but he is not the sole authority on the Holocaust just because he has made one movie on it. His movie is ripped off from one of the most gifted writers, Thomas Keneally. When he comes up with a story with imagination, he can talk. I have read numerous books on the Holocaust and talked to survivors and understand that this is not reality. But, it still makes you appreciate the story without undermining the Holocaust in anyway whatsoever. That is the magic of the movie.

There are a number of special scenes in this movie. Particular among them are how he shields his son, Joshua from the Nazis Nuremberg laws - "We will not allow spiders and visigoths into our shop from tomorrow". Another is one where he goes to the school as the inspector and shows how the Italian Aryan bodies are superior to others. The other part where he convinces his son that he will not be made into soap in the camp.

I would urge everyone to see the movie and make their own judgement. This movie is a masterpiece. You can see it as a comedy, or as a serious movie that makes you think. I personally feel that as an imaginative story and acting, this movie is a product of genius. It won 2 oscars, best foreign film and best actor, I personally felt that it could have won best film as well that year. I could not believe that they gave it to "Shakespeare in Love". This movie will stand the test of time as it is a paradigm shift.

This is my favorite movie. It is a great story of what a man will do for his family. The first half is light hearted and comedic as he meets and romances the love of his life. The second half is a little darker (some will say unlikely or unrealistic) dramatic,less comedic as he protects and looks out for his family safety. With dire consequences.