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Life Is Beautiful

Rating

Director

Roberto Benigni

Screenplay

Vincenzo Cerami, Robert Benigni

Length

1h 56m

Starring

Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano, Sergio Bustric, Marisa Paredes, Horst Bucholz, Lydia Alfonsi

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Basic Plot

A Jewish waiter and his family are taken to a concentration camp.

Review

The Holocaust has been a theme of many motion pictures, culminating in its greatest triumph in 1993’s “Schindler’s List.” Since then, the number of Holocaust films has neither increased, nor decreased. This year finds an Italian foreign language film treading where no other Holocaust film has trod.

“Life Is Beautiful” is director-writer-actor Roberto Benigni’s new film about a Jewish waiter who spends half the film living in a small town wooing a woman who would one day be his wife and then his trials and tribulations in a concentration camp.

The film opens with two brothers traveling by car through the Italian countryside. Ferruccio Orefice (Sergio Bini Bustric) is a poet whose poetry keeps him sane in an unusual world. His brother, Guido (Benigni) is a fast-talking dreamer who ends up waiting tables in the city they are going to.

While reciting one of his poems, Ferruccio realizes that the car’s breaks are out and they go careening down the slopes of an Italian highway. When they finally come to a stop, Ferruccio and Guido get under the car and try to figure out what’s wrong. Guido becomes a nuisance and Ferruccio requests he be alone under the car. Guido obliges and prepares to go wash his hands at the farm they have stopped at. While there, he spies a produce cart and speaks with a little girl nearby.

He tells her that he is a prince and that he is just traveling through the countryside. During this conversation, a woman who has been in the barn trying to rid it of wasps, falls out of the second story into Guido’s arm. Dora (Nicoletta Braschi) is grateful and falls for his princely ruse, even as he refers to her as princess.

Guido leaves completely enamored with her and cannot think of anything else. Later he runs across her on several occasions. During one impressive sequence, several foreshadowed events lead to an amazing comedic experience that cannot be rivaled even into the depths of the film.

Although she is to marry a banker, she gives it up to marry Guido and they have a child together. Guido and son, Giosué (Giorgio Cantarini), spend their day watching over a bookshop. Guido is called off to speak with the prefect who seeks his presence solely because he is Jewish and leaves his son there to watch things. His grandmother arrives and says that she will see him again soon.

The next major event is Giosué’s birthday. Dora leaves the family in the house to go retrieve her mother for the occasion and returns to an empty house. Guido, Giosué and Uncle (Giustino Durano) have been taken to a train where they will be transported to the concentration camp.

While in the concentration camp, Guido attempts to put Giosué at ease by telling him that it is all a game where the team that collects 1000 points gets to go home in a tank. No one else seems to fall for this ruse, but Giosué is put at ease for the most part.

“Life Is Beautiful” is quite entertaining and well acted for the most part. Benigni isn’t extremely impressive in the lead role, nor is Cantarini very effective. The plot contains various elements seen in other films and not done much better. The comedic moments at the beginning more than make up for the film’s other failings, including various questions that go unanswered.

“Life” is ambitious in its high aspirations. Benigni attempts to make light of a terrible situation, but approaches it so that it isn’t as heavy-handed as other films of its genre. It’s a nice addition to this year’s slate of films.

Awards Prospects

An almost certain contender for Best Picture, Actor and Director, this film is a major contender for the Foreign Film award, but most likely will not win anything but.

Review Written

February 1, 1999