REVIEW OF LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

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.