A beautiful life indeed. Review on Life Is Beautiful -Hollywood Movie

I was starting to think I was becoming bitter and twisted, hating the movies that everyone loves, but I was redeemed by Life is Beautiful. While there are definitely flaws, overall, this is a wonderful film: funny, uplifting, touching, sad.

Life is Beautiful tells the story of a man, Guido (Roberto Benigni), who makes life fun for himself and for others. Firstly we see him weave his magic with Dora (Nicoletta Braschi) and then so touchingly with his son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). All this takes place during World War II, with the added twist of fate that Guido and hence Giosue are Jewish.

I'd heard people talk about this movie and I'd read reviews containing plot summaries and I must confess that I wasn't really interested. I think I've had my fill of WWII movies. I'm not suggesting that we forget the atrocities that occurred but I'm not sure I need to constantly see movies on the subject. Well, I was wrong in two ways.

First, Life Is Beautiful isn't really about the atrocities: it's about this wonderful man, Guido.

Second, it's such a different take on these events, that it's worth a look.

It's hard to talk about this film, without descending into trite phrases: the triumph of the human spirit, overcoming adversity with humour, love surmounting all: but none of this does justice to Life Is Beautiful and it gives the impression of a ponderous, weighty film. Life is Beautiful is anything but ponderous.

It begins a bit too raucously. Roberto Benigni seems to be trying too hard to make us like Guido: he's too loud, too shrill. However, after about ten minutes, he settles nicely into his character and after that, we're along for the ride. We're drawn in to his world, where everything has a positive side but more importantly, everything is fun.

Even better, in Life Is Beautiful nothing is underlined. It's all there on the screen, unfolding before us, but the audience is assumed to be clever enough to work it all out. The Doctor (Horst Buchholz) plays a great role, showing both the humanity and the inhumanity of the German soldiers in very simple ways. In fact, everyone is good in their respective roles, with the exception of the early Guido noted above.

There are no horrific scenes, no gruesome violence, no soap opera angst, and yet, Life is Beautiful manages to convey so much emotion that is completely real and that stays with you after leaving the theatre. Without tugging at the heart-strings or working the violins into a frenzy, Life is Beautiful manages to resonate with humanity in a way that Hollywood hasn't been able to in a long time. It's a wonderful, light piece filled with humour and warmth and yet, powerful enough to stay with you after leaving the theatre.