Vita è bella, La (1997) Life is Beautiul

56. Life Is Beautiful, 1997


An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all.

It is on the list of top 100 war films. I had heard of it and recently Film 4 has shown it a few times. With modern television it is easy to dip in and out of films as I had done with this.

I forced myself to sit and watch all of it last night. Many times the beginning of a film is the key to it all so it is not a good idea to form and idea by coming half way through.

The director is the writer and the main actor

Roberto Benigni

....

Guido Orefice

. You have to watch it closely because it is sub titled but you get to like some of the words in Italian. He calls ladies princess or princepessa as in Buon giorno, Principessa!

He is a very funny character who gets into a variety of scrapes and in the first half of the film like all funny men ends up with the girl.

They have a child Giosué and by the time they are rounded up as jews he is about 8. Obviously going to a concentration camp is a traumatic experience. Dad explains it is all a game and that the boy will win a tank if he gets enough points and wins the game.

The quick thinking of dad means they seem to survive . The boy starts to learn that maybe it isn't a game as all the other children have gone to the showers. He has heard that they are being turned into soap and buttons. Dad explains otherwise and continues with the game.

Dad gets shot by the Germans but off camera so you are hoping it is a mistake but it isn't. The boy is standing there as the Americans turn up to an empty camp as all the inmates have walked off after the guards left.


The tank stops in front of him and he looks open mouthed. It is true he has won the tank. he finds mum and it ends.

A very sentimental film and could e accused of not being realistic but it was a different view of the Holocaust. It is said there are certain things that you cannot make jokes about. Obviously that is not true as this is a very funny film even though very sad indeed.

I could watch it quote a few times and not tire of it. A truly great film and worthy of being in the top 100 war films. One I would have missed if it had not been on the list.

I was disappoint that some on the websites claimed they never watched films that were black and white or had subtitles. It is very prejudiced and ignorant not to eh try more unusual films or exclude them because they are not in colour or are foreign.

It is 56 on the list just after the half way point and deservedly so.