The Tiger and the Snow [Import]

Watching this movie will inevitably remind you of Benigni's previous movie "Life is beautiful". Most probably it will not give you the same thrill since "Life is beautiful" is a masterpiece and it is such an inspired movie. I am sure that even Benigni does not expect to produce such a movie again.

Still there are some common elements in these two movies. Benigni plays once more a funny character which is surrounded by extremely difficult circumstances. Yet he is focused on his goal (in this movie to rescue the woman he loves). And this time we get to see a much happier ending. This movie also unfolds during a war which is taking place right now. This time the villains are not so easy to point out (like the "Nazi's in Life is beautiful") but the movie still describes how war brings misery to everyone involved, either these are the American troops, the residents of Baghdad or even members of humanitarian organizations and regardless from which side the fire comes. If anyone expects any political comments in the movie I think he will be disappointed. Benigni remains neutral and does not take sides on who is right and who is wrong in this war. This might disappoint some who would expect a political comment in this movie yet it will make it more attractive to broader audiences.

I cannot also overlook Jean Reno's role in the movie. He plays an Arab poet. One of the best scenes of the movie is when he is looking at the starry sky of Baghdad with Attilio and he quotes some memorable poetry. I believe this is another role which Reno delivers in a superb way.

Nicola Piovani's music also contributes to the atmosphere of the movie. He has worked with Benigni in many films and there is the right chemistry between his music and the scenes for which it is employed.

In conclusion I would highly recommend this movie. When you get it do not expect to see another masterpiece like "Life is beautiful" because you will be disappointed. Yet prepare yourself for an entertaining movie with positive messages. If you have not seen "Life is beautiful" (you can check my review for this movie as well), see it AFTER you see this movie. I think this is the correct order to watch these two movies and get the best out of them.

Attilio de Giovanni (Benigni) teaches poetry at the university, and is in love with Vittoria (Braschi) whom he dreams of marrying every night in his shorts and t-shirt, while Tom Waits sings. One day, Vittoria travels to Iraq with her poet friend Fouad (Jean Reno) and is in an accident. Attilio will do anything to be by her side. Will love conquer?

Benigni as the director signs here a film about war in Iraq, love, survival, romance, life, poetry and most of all, human relationships during a time of war. His opinions are clear. This is not a simple comedy or drama.

Benigni as the actor slightly overacts, but doesn't he always? Braschi is a delight as always, and Jean Reno is wonderful as the Iraqi poet who returns to his country. He also had a great Italian coach, for his Italian is near perfect! It was refreshing to see Tom Waits in this movie, although he was simply a "musician" and didn't have a speaking role.

Well directed and with as usual great music by Nicola Piovani, I found the movie much better than expected, and would watch again any time.

Roberto Benigni is without a doubt a mastermind of comedy. But not just comedy for comedy's sake, but a type of comedy that is paired with deep pathos. In this movie, he shows again his great art as director and actor. His favorite theme seems to be the great importance that love plays in our own life, and that in spite of all those horrific episodes of human history, individuals always fight to the last to keep the only thing that they can control: love; love to the ones who truly matter to us and who make life worth living. I highly recommend this movie. I am not sure why it has not made an impact in the US. My only guess is that people would expect to see something similar to 'life is beautiful', and even though the movie uses similar resources to balance the comic and dramatic, it is still quite different and of a category of its own. Here we are thrown into the drama a lot sooner than in 'Life', but still we are given many samples of the comic within great adversity. The type of jokes will remind you of 'Life is Beautiful', like the use of hilarious great coincidences. But still, this movie shows a maturity and intimacy that is deeply touching, and maybe even more intense. 'Life is Beautiful' deals with a man's great desire for the survival of his wife and son (those that he loves and all he has in the world) in the middle of one of the most tragic human historical tragedies. In 'The Tiger and The snow", Benigni uses the war of Irak as the historical episode, but he focuses his attention a lot more in the personal story. Here the war in Irak seems to be used as a mere example of one of those large events out of our control, another of those unnecessary tragedies that we humans keep committing over and over again throughout our history. But here this war can be any war, it could have been a war two hundred years ago, or a 1000 years ago, or in the future. Benigni maybe uses the war in Irak as a contemporary one that we can all relate to, since it is still going on and it makes it "closer" to us all, instead of placing the event somewhere further in the past or future. This is a technique that enforces the intimacy of the story. The focus of the movie is the power that love has in us and to the lengths it will take us to protect those who are most important to us. There is a universality in this movie that puts it in a higher level than 'Life is Beautiful'. To anyone interested in those movies that deal with the power of love, and the great lengths to keep anyone important to us alive, this is a movie you will love. Movies like this remind us that LOVE is everything. True love make us go through great adversities, without being selfish. And in spite of all the catastrophes and painful mistakes that we human beings commit and have committed throughout our history (wars, genocide,etc), we should always try to focus on that, LOVE, which is what really truly matters in life, and what makes it worth living. Please do watch this movie.