1997 ‘La vita è bella’ Directed by Roberto Benigni
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
Roberto Benigni Nicoletta Braschi Giorgio Cantarini Giustino Durano Sergio Bini Bustric Lidia Alfonsi Giuliana Lojodice Amerigo Fontani Pietro De Silva Francesco Guzzo Raffaella Lebboroni Marisa Paredes Horst Buchholz Adelaide Alaïs Verena Buratti Hannes Hellmann Wolfgang Hillinger Antonio Prester Gina Rovere Laura Susanne Ruedeberg Richard Sammel Andrea Tidona Dirk K. van den Berg Omero Antonutti Daniela Fedtke Claudio Alfonsi Gil Baroni
Az élet szép, La Vida es Bella, Livet är underbart, Η ζωή είναι ωραία, A Vida é Bela, Животът е прекрасен, Život je krásný, La vie est belle, Kaunis elämä, La vida es bella, 인생은 아름다워, Life Is Beautiful_ La vita è bella, Life Is Beautiful La vita è bella, Život je krásny, 美麗人生, A Vida é Bela - Emby, Livet er herlig, Живот је леп, La vida és bella, Livet er smukt, Das Leben ist schön, Η Ζωή Είναι Ωραία, Elu on ilus, زندگی زیباست, החיים יפים, जीवन सुंदर है (लाइफ इज़ ब्यूटीफुल), Život je lijep, ライフ・イズ・ビューティフル, ცხოვრება მშვენიერია, Gyvenimas yra gražus, Dzīve ir skaista, Życie jest piękne, Viața e frumoasă, Жизнь прекрасна, ยิ้มไว้โลกนี้ไม่มีสิ้นหวัง, Hayat Güzeldir, Життя прекрасне, Cuộc Sống Tươi Đẹp, 美丽人生, 一個快樂的傳說
me, looking at the title of this movie immediately after watching it: so that was a fucking lie
I'll never forget the first time that I saw this film, as it was the first film I'd ever seen to flat out wreck me emotionally, make me burst out into a fit of uncontrollable tears and lose complete command of my motor functions. The ending of the film, for me, is a flashbulb memory and always will be; as the sobs came spilling out and I, quite literally, fell off my bed and onto the floor, my (now deceased) father heard me wailing all the way from downstairs and came rushing up to my room, under the impression that something terrible might have happened.
I can still, so vividly, recall the haste of my father's footsteps -- their speed…
"To laugh and cry coms from the same point of the soul, no? I'm a storyteller: The crux of the matter is to reach beauty, poetry, it doesn't matter if that is comedy or tragedy. They're the same if you reach the beauty."
(Roberto Benigni)
CAN A COMEDY IN A HOLOCAUST SETTING ACTUALLY WORK? YES! FUNNY, ENTERTAINING, INTENSE AND DRAMATIC. THIS TRAGICOMEDY IS WITH ONE WORD: BEAUTIFUL
This is a simple story… but not an easy one to tell.
Life is Beautiful is a tragicomedy film that tells the story of a Jewish bookkeeper and how he navigated the atrocities of a Jewish concentration camp using wits and humor to protect his beloved son. When I first watched this film back in 2018, I asked the question, “why would anyone attempt to make a comedy film about a topic as sensitive as the Holocaust?” and it still made me uncomfortable because it’s not really a topic you should be making fun of, but the film isn’t all about that.
The movie started as jolly and high-spirited as we’re introduced to the life of Guido pre-Nazi occupied Italy…
“This is my story. This is the sacrifice my father made. This was his gift to me.”
The film that introduced the world to the charming Italian actor, Roberto Benigni (perhaps not because they saw his actual movie, but for the way he accepted his Oscar for his performance in this film as he leaped through the seats of the actors that were attending the ceremony). This is my favorite foreign film because it manages to balance a wonderful story that begins as a romantic comedy and ends up being about the tragic events that took place during the holocaust. How could Benigni possibly pull something like this off? He’s telling a hopeful light hearted story in the midst of…
Oh my. My oh my.
I was not in the right mental state to watch this beautiful piece of film-making. I am an absolute mess right now. No movie has broken me this much in a very long time.
Very few films have ever left me speechless and I am genuinely struggling to articulate my thoughts right now while tears stream down my face and my hands tremble across this keyboard.
Life is Beautiful is one of the most powerful films I have ever seen. Presented in an incredibly devastating way, this film touched on themes of innocence, human dignity, and the heartbreaking truth of reality. This film is dark, yet it is presented through the eyes of children. Those…
In a film where the story is a side issue and all attention is focused on the hyperactive, always optimistic main character. Who is such a hyperactive maniac who is having such a good time in the concentration camp. Where I couldn’t understand that guy at all.
I could hardly keep my attention, I was actually irritated by everything; the silly, childish humor which wasn’t funny. The camerawork was very amateurish, and the stale music could be dusted off from time to time. There are quite a few things that are very unbelievable.
I understand the thought behind this film; life is always beautiful and remain optimistic, whatever is happening. All well and good, but it’s not interesting. I don't…
