I have seen the Schindler’s list and it had focused more on the life of Schindler and how he managed to save lives, but in the movie Life is Beautiful, or La vita è bella, it focused more on a family. It basically had the same history to tell but both had a different approach. In this movie, it had a comical way which gave the viewers a good laugh before the tragedy had begun. A story of how a family filled with joy had become separated.
The film began with a Jewish man, Guido Orefice, who had his German woman, Dora, through his humor and wit. They had a son named Giosué Orefice. Everything was going well with the family until one day, during Giosué’s birthday, when the woman’s mother had decided to visit the family, Guido, Giosué, and their uncle Eliseo were taken by the Nazis. Dora did not wish to see her family suffer without her which made her decide to come with them. Guido jokingly did his best to keep his son from feeling fear by telling him that everything was just a game and the prize would be a real tank. As the war was about to end, Guido takes the opportunity to find his wife but he makes sure he hides his son safely. Unfortunately, he was caught and killed. When the place grew peaceful, Giosué came out of his hiding place as ordered by his father before. He was then invited to ride on a real tank which made him very happy. What adds to his joy was seeing his mother. And in the end we learn that the man narrating the story is Giosué himself, showing the sacrifice done by his father for them.
The title and the story actually create confusion. You might ask how life could be beautiful during the holocaust. Well, the movie is not actually about that, the movie is actually showing how someone could show love, courage, and optimism in any circumstances. We have seen him do that even before the war had begun until his death. The setting was truly believable as well as the clothing used by them, it effectively lit the people’s suspension of disbelief. But of course, the characters were the ones who had drawn the emotions of the viewers. Roberto Benigni, as Guido Orefice, is to blame with the mixed emotions felt by the viewers. He effectively portrayed a role of man, showing strength and courage, as well as a role of a father, loving, protective and optimistic. Nicoletta Braschi, as Dora, had also shown how a woman in that time would’ve been. She effectively portrayed a loving mother and a loving wife. Although she was not much seen in the film, she had still given the viewers a glimpse of how a real loving woman would sacrifice everything that she had for her family knowing that she German. She, like Schindler from the Schindler’s list proved that not all Germans during that time were as bad and as insane as the others. Giorgio Cantarini, as Giosué Orefice, is the one who gave the viewers a huge smile because of his adorableness and innocence. According to Carlo Celli, “The other aspect of this reduction of horror was the decision by Benigni and Cerami to present the story as a fable. Benigni has stated that Life Is Beautiful was partly inspired by the stories his father, Luigi, told of his experiences in a Nazi work camp in Erfurt, Germany. Roberto has claimed that conditions in his father's camp were quite similar to those in the death camps, with the important difference that there were no death chambers. Benigni recalls that his father never told the story of his internment in a way that would frighten or depress his children. This respect and protection of innocence had a profound impact on Benigni, who sought to repeat his father's approach to the subject (Simonelli 7). Benigni and Cerami's script therefore is presented as a fable; the premise of the film in which Benigni's trickster protagonist defeats the ogres of Italian fascism and Germa n Nazism is offered in a basic fairytale format. The reconstruction of the camp as a stone building rather than a more realistic wooden frame complex adds to the fairytale setting.”
The symbolisms were quite minimal. The horse that was painted green symbolized the hatred that the Nazis have towards the Jews which later on sparked the beginning of the war. Another is the anvil carried by the workers which had shown how much they’re suffering. The tank symbolized hope; it had shown that beyond such tragedy, there would always be something to look forward to. Overall, the movie was a movie worth watching to touch every hearts of the viewers and too learn things about life as well.
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