REVIEW OF LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
“Life
Is Beautiful” is a wonderful film of 1997 directed and starred by Roberto
Benigni. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, an Italian Jew who works in a library and
who has to use his imagination in order to protect his young child from the
horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. This film is partially based on the real
experience of Rubino Romero Salmoni, one of the few Jews who survived the Nazi
Holocaust.
The film can
be considered therefore as a tragicomedy, on the one hand there is the tragedy
of the historical event and on the other hand, the funny way that Guido uses
his imagination to distract and protect his child from the situation. In my view, it’s understandable the “Life is
beautiful” may generate controversy. After all, the nightmare of a Nazi
concentration camp is difficult to portray through comedy. But Benigni
exceeding all expectations, crafts a genuine film difficult to get over. The
characters of Guido Orefice and his child, Giosuè Orefice, are the most
successful and important, because they show us how the innocence of a child can
change our point of view in dramatic moments of the film. Another very
interesting point is how Guido divides his time between getting into troubles
with the Fascists and attempting to court teacher Dora (Benigni’s real-life
wife).
In my
opinion, this film is worth watching more that than once, because is a masterpiece
of the cinema. It’s a film to make you cry and laugh at the same time and it
has an historical background. I highly recommend it to watch with whoever you
want.
