Life is beautiful (Italian) 1997Yet another award winning international movie to assess. Italians, like Indians, appear to like to talk a lot. The length of conversation seem too long compared to the brevity of the subtitles, anyway. And the dexterity of their hand movement tries very hard to keep up with the speed of their speech.
This film is another one of the movies that tries to reminisce that Holocaust and gained sympathy all the way to the Oscar (4 awards and 4 nominations) and Cannes (best movie).
Roberto Benigni acted (won Oscar) and directed this flick. He made it an all family affair by casting his wife as the heroine.
It is a simple story which can be divided into two halves. In the first half, set in a pre-World War 2 Italy, Guido, a Jewish, is shown to be a joker by nature, waiter at a restaurant, tries to set up a bookstore and falls hopelessly in love with a non-Jewish school teacher, Dora. Even though the family arranges for Dora to marry a civil servant, Guido managed to literally sweep her of her feet during her engagement party!
Then comes the second half of the film. It is war time, the couple have a 4 year old boy and Jews are prosecuted. Guido, his son, Giosue and many others are transported by train to a concentration camp. Dora, in spite of being non-Jewish, volunteers to board the train.
Father and son build a bond here in the concentration camp while Dora is imprisoned in the ladies' quarters.
Guido, through his natural talent in making a seemingly hopeless situation simple, keep entertaining his son and keeping his spirits up. He kept telling him that they were all engaged in a game and they were all players in all. The first prize winner would receive a real life tank! In spite of all the hardship, he told him that he was the current leader in the game. Guido, also appeared happy to his son in spite of the misery he was going through. Towards the end of the film, Guido was being marched off to be persecuted. Knowing that his son would be watching him, Guido actually walks in a comical way when the soldier was walking behind him with a rifle! Son still thinks it is all but a game. Just as we hear the shot that killed Guido, the war also ends. An Allied tank slides in to camp. Giosue is happy as he thinks that he is indeed the winner of the game!
He gets a ride on the machine and mother and son is soon reunited....
Roberto Benigni acted (won Oscar) and directed this flick. He made it an all family affair by casting his wife as the heroine.
It is a simple story which can be divided into two halves. In the first half, set in a pre-World War 2 Italy, Guido, a Jewish, is shown to be a joker by nature, waiter at a restaurant, tries to set up a bookstore and falls hopelessly in love with a non-Jewish school teacher, Dora. Even though the family arranges for Dora to marry a civil servant, Guido managed to literally sweep her of her feet during her engagement party!
Then comes the second half of the film. It is war time, the couple have a 4 year old boy and Jews are prosecuted. Guido, his son, Giosue and many others are transported by train to a concentration camp. Dora, in spite of being non-Jewish, volunteers to board the train.
Father and son build a bond here in the concentration camp while Dora is imprisoned in the ladies' quarters.
Guido, through his natural talent in making a seemingly hopeless situation simple, keep entertaining his son and keeping his spirits up. He kept telling him that they were all engaged in a game and they were all players in all. The first prize winner would receive a real life tank! In spite of all the hardship, he told him that he was the current leader in the game. Guido, also appeared happy to his son in spite of the misery he was going through. Towards the end of the film, Guido was being marched off to be persecuted. Knowing that his son would be watching him, Guido actually walks in a comical way when the soldier was walking behind him with a rifle! Son still thinks it is all but a game. Just as we hear the shot that killed Guido, the war also ends. An Allied tank slides in to camp. Giosue is happy as he thinks that he is indeed the winner of the game!
He gets a ride on the machine and mother and son is soon reunited....
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