Actors: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Plot: An Italian Jew has a wonderful romance with the help of his humor, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Concentration camp.
Plot: An Italian Jew has a wonderful romance with the help of his humor, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Concentration camp.
I didn't really look forward to watching "Life is Beautiful". I dislike it when comedians try to make us laugh AND cry or use humor to make some profound point. Usually the movie ends up an unpleasant mixture - like hot fudge on raw oysters - or wastes a 1st rate comedian on 2nd rate drama. So I was pleasantly surprised at how *not* awful "Life is Beautiful" is.
The first half is fairly amusing as Benigni does a series of well-done, if slightly familiar, gags and has a light-hearted romance with Braschi. In the second half, things get more serious as Benigni tries to shield his son from the harshness of the German concentration camp. The final scene is excellent and there's some surprisingly good humor - given its Dachau - but the pathos is laid on a little too thick.
Summary: I suppose if you tried to make a funny, life-affirming movie about Concentration camps "Life is Beautiful" does it about as well as possible. But I found the situation too serious/distracting to enjoy much of the 2nd half humor. Four Stars for the first half, two stars for the second. Overall rating: ***
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