Life is Beautiful
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (LA VITA E
BELLA) (15)
D: Roberto Benigni
Melampo (Elda Ferri & Gianluigi Braschi)
Italy 1998
122 mins
War/Drama/Comedy
W: Roberto Benigni & Vincenzo Cerami
DP: Tonino Delli Colli
Ed: Simona Paggi
Mus: Nicola Piovani
PD: Danilo Donati
Roberto Benigni (Guido
Orefice), Nicoletta Braschi (Dora Orefice), Giustino Durano (Giosue Orefice), Sergio Brustic (Ferruccio), Marisa Paredes (Dora's Mother), Horst Buchholz (Dr.
Lessing)
La Vita E Bella! What a beautiful film it is too. What
begins as a Chaplinesque love story turns into a war drama as Italian Jew, Guido Orifice (Roberto Benigni) and his son, Joshua, are taken to a concentration camp, where Guido, protecting his
son from the horrors there, convinces him that it's all a game.
I put off watching this movie for so long due to some
critics labelling it overly sentimental or stating that it made light of serious subject matter, but I thought it was a joy to watch, all due to the flamboyant & charismatic performance
of Benigni.
It's a heartwarming, heartbreaking and heart-string
pulling fable of fantasia which left a few tears welling in my eyes. Life is beautiful and so is this movie.
9/10
