La Vita e Bella ~ Life is Beautiful (1997) *****

Life Is Beautiful was a movie I did not want to watch at all. My friend, Dara insisted that we go to the movies and watch it. Watch it, I did.

Synposis from Netflix:
In this poignant tragicomedy, a clever Jewish-Italian waiter named Guido (Roberto Benigni, who won an Oscar for his role) is sent to a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, along with his wife (Nicoletta Braschi) and their young son (Giorgio Cantarini). Refusing to give up hope, Guido tries to protect his son's innocence by pretending that their imprisonment is an elaborate game, with the grand prize being a tank. Benigni also directed.

Length:
117 minutes

Director:
Roberto Benigni
Cast:
Roberto Benigni
Nicoletta Braschi
Giustino Durano
Sergio Bini Bustric

I am not a big fan of war movies. Nor do I like movies about genocide. Movies where the Jewish are in concentration camps horrify me. It isn't that I deny that these things happen. It is the fact that I do not want to see how humans could be so terrible. And to see the devastation of what happened to an entire ethnicity is more than I can bear to watch. I really should know better. Learning about Chinese history and about Chinese tortures should have already educated me that humans can do evil like no other.

I was set to hate this movie. Why? Because I don't like to be reminded how bad people are and how humans can let terrible things happen without interfering. The start of the movie was totally unlike what I thought it would be. It really was a romantic type of comedy. "Bongiorno Principessa" was my favourite line in the movie. Roberto was a funny, light hearted, full of life and love. He was a goof ball that tried so hard to win a woman. For me it is true, a man who can make a woman laugh whole heartedly is a man to keep.

In the movie, it was obvious to me that Roberto was marrying up. And yet the couple made it work. They created a happy home filled with merriment and laughter. The only thorn in the side was the snobby mother in law. I am not sure if the MIL didn't understand her daughter or if she was just plain stupid. For the MIL to really believe that she could separate two obviously very in love man and woman was beyond ludicrous for me.

While the movie was really quite a comedy in the beginning, it took a turn for the worst and this was when I understood the tragedy. My heart weeps as I remember the conditions in the concentration camp. Roberto is an amazing actor. He demonstrates not only the love of man to woman, but of a father to a child. What he goes through to keep his child sheltered from the horrors of wartime is an unbeatable feat. The fear he keeps hidden from his young son leaves me speechless. The way he constantly works to generate hope in his son and for his wife moves me. It speaks of true love and dedication. Roberto exemplifies the phrase "I would die for you."

So when the end comes, it is with shock and despair. I could not believe the ending because all through the movie, I saw how Roberto overcomes adversity. In the end, when he dies, I could not stop the tears from seeping down my face, tear drop after tear drop falling into my lap. I am sure that my eyes were wide with disbelief. My ears were ringing with a silent roar. I left the theater in silence, the pain of the ending was too much for me to say a word.