La Vita is Beautiful
Comedy and Tragedy Entwine in Modern Fable

After seeing the Italian film La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful), I regret that I had not seen it in time to list as one of my top ten films for 1998. The inspiring and funny film made me laugh, but also managed to tell a serious story about World War II and the Holocaust.

Writer and director Roberto Benigni also stars as Guido Orefice, a man who lives life with a passion few achieve. From the early moments of the film, Benigni plays Guido with a frantic manner. He accidently catches a young woman, Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), when she falls from a barn loft into his arms. Immediately, he begins to lavish her with charm. As they continue to run into each other in the city, he finds himself determined to win her heart.

Benigni will remind American audiences of Robin Williams or Jim Carrey, but behind his sillyness, there is an innocence. The humor is incredibly clever at times, and it never degrades to the base humor found in modern Hollywood films. While some of the jokes are pure slapstick, many are subtle and rooted in the various threads of the story.

The comedy, however, is only one side of the film. Set against the backdrop of World War II in Italy, the film shows early on that the war will interfere with Guido's life. Years later, after he and Dora have married and started a family, the war is in full swing. His son, Giosué (Giorgio Cantarini), does not understand the war. Guido, in an attempt to shield his son from the prejudice and hatred, makes jokes. When they are taken to a concentration camp, he begins an elaborate contest that he hopes will keep the horrors of the Holocaust from Giosué.

Although making a comedy set - in part - in a concentration camp seems disrespectful, Life is Beautiful handles the material with such care that the story is both heart wrenching and dignified. The concentration camp acts like a magnifying glass. Small acts of sadness become horrifying and the moments of joy become a reason to celebrate. In one scene, Guido and Giosué sneak into the loudspeaker room and call out to Dora (who is with the women in a separate part of the camp). The happiness she feels in hearing them alive is visible in her eyes. It is a wonderful, moving, scene.

Life is Beautiful has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Foreign Film. Because the film is in Italian, Americans will have to settle for reading English subtitles. Some may balk at the thought of reading all those subtitles (I know I did), but this film is worth the effort!

MY RATING: 10 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 122 min.