Life is Beautiful:
I hadn’t seen this in a long time and watched it again tonight. Very good movie, if not necessarily perfect. Roberto Benigni and his real life wife Nicoletta Braschi are a very loving and memorable on-screen couple. The first half of the movie is as romantic as films get. The comedy – at times full of wit, and at other times a mix of gags and even the bizarre – is the kind that provokes constant warm smiles, mixed in with occasional chuckles and laughs. Above all, this is an uplifting and endearing film, carried by the presence of Benigni, its lead actor and director, who commands the screen in a unique way that few others have ever achieved.
The only problem with this movie, I’m afraid, is the lack of levity when it comes to Guido’s character, particularly in the concentration camp scenes during the last half of the movie. Every time there is a down note in this film, the camera is always on someone else…usually his wife. The film really needed a moment here or there where the spirit of the main character was tested to the limit. I think the film would have been far greater had there been a scene or two where Guido nearly breaks down, shows some doubt or psychological strain, something. Benigni’s idol, Charlie Chaplin, was capable of eliciting those heartbreaking tears at the same time he filled his movies with fun and joy, but here Benigni’s character Guido just doesn’t have that same dynamic range.
I really do like and enjoy this movie though, and I give it 3.5 / 4 stars. It just seems like the film could have been more. What if there had been one more scene near the beginning that more strongly established the fascist setting and background tone? What if Guido and his friend had discussed something more philosophical, like fate, when they were lying in bed and talking about willpower? Emphasizing fate a little more strongly could have quashed any stalker vibes given off during a couple of the romantic scenes. And what if there had been an intermission after the greenhouse scene? I think it would have benefited the film to have been broken into two halves, as the first half and the second half of the movie are so starkly different. The concentration camp scenes then could have allowed for a little more screentime, and a chance to briefly glimpse our hero’s psychological despair.
A little more pride and emphasis on Guido and his son’s Jewish identity were sorely missing as well.
I realize an epic is not the kind of film Benigni wanted to make, but I can’t help but see the potential there. Still, this is a unique and memorable film, and one that I enjoy watching very much.