La vita è bella (1997)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Roberto Benigni

Writers:

Vincenzo Cerami (story) &
Roberto Benigni (story)

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A Jewish man has a wonderful romance with the help of his humour, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Nazi death camp.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Concentration Camp | Italy | Tank | Love

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 52 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Roberto Benigni	...	Guido Orefice
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Dora
Giorgio Cantarini	...	Giosué Orefice
Giustino Durano	...	Eliseo Orefice
Sergio Bini Bustric	...	Ferruccio Papini (as Sergio Bustric)
Marisa Paredes	...	Madre di Dora
Horst Buchholz	...	Doctor Lessing (as Horst Bucholz)
Lidia Alfonsi	...	Guicciardini
Giuliana Lojodice	...	School Principal
Amerigo Fontani	...	Rodolfo
Pietro De Silva	...	Bartolomeo
Francesco Guzzo	...	Vittorino
Raffaella Lebboroni	...	Elena
Claudio Alfonsi	...	Amico Rodolfo
Gil Baroni	...	Prefect

Also Known As:

Life Is Beautiful (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for holocaust-related thematic elements.

Runtime:

116 min | USA:118 min (English dubbed version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | German | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Ireland:PG | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Norway:7 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Trivia:

Roberto Benigni says the title comes from a quote by Leon Trotsky. In exile in Mexico, knowing he was about to be killed by Stalin's assassins, he saw his wife in the garden and wrote that, in spite of everything, "life is beautiful".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Just before Guido is caught by the spotlight at the end of the movie, a woman belonging to the group of Jews being deported smiles to the camera.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Giosué Orefice: [narrating as an adult] This is a simple story... but not an easy one to tell.

Movie Connections:

References Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Soundtrack:

Marcia Reale

One of the best movies ever.

This is one of those movies that have a lasting effect on you. After watching it, I found that it has less to do with the Holocaust and more to do with the human feelings and the beautiful relationship of a father and his son. The holocaust provides the ultimate context, that brings and highlights the story and adds yet another deep dimension to the movie. No such piece of art has ever before combined laughter and tears of sadness in me before and that is the miracle of the movie. The realism of the movie is not its strong point, but then again it is not supposed to be; this helps in bringing the audiences to a state of mind away from reality, focusing on the feelings generated by forgetting about all external events and developments of the war. Despite that, the movie does not fail to point out an element of the nazi psychology demonstrated by the doctor who was obsessed with riddles. This portrayed the nazi 'state of mind' (if ever such an expression existed) as a sick mentally disturbed state. Life is really beautiful as you watch Guido's relentless efforts to make a lovely exciting experience of the concentration camp to his son. You get exhausted just watching him going through his painful day and yet you smile as he speaks to his son and makes him laugh. One can go on forever describing the creativity of this movie, but one will not be able to capture all its beauty in writing.