Life Is Beautiful Review: Comedy and Tragedy Intertwined
8.5/10 — Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Pros
- Benigni's warm lead performance
- Moving father-son story
- Bold tonal gamble
Cons
- Divisive treatment of its subject
- Sharp tonal shift
Roberto Benigni plays Guido, an Italian Jewish man who uses humour and imagination to convince his young son that their time in a Nazi concentration camp is an elaborate game. It won three Oscars, including Best Actor for Benigni.
What works
The first half is a sweet, slapstick romance, which makes the shift to the camp all the more painful. Benigni’s performance is full of warmth and invention, and Giorgio Cantarini is lovely as his son. The film’s central idea, love as protection, is powerful.
Where it falters
Some viewers feel its whimsical approach trivialises the Holocaust, and the tonal shift is jarring.
Verdict
Moving and imaginative, if you can accept its fairytale approach to a terrible subject.
