Category: Life Is Beautiful

A Dangerous Lie: Roberto Benigni’s ‘Life is Beautiful’

Art is powerful. It can make both true and false imaginings seem real. Both “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and the “Communist Manifesto” changed the world—in opposite ways; art without goodness is dangerous. For 70 years the Holocaust has commanded our most serious attention. Hitler’s concentration camps have stood for the greatest of human depravities. They force…


Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Life is Beautiful’: A Fable of Love and Truth

PG | 1h 56min | Drama, Comedy | 1997 This year marks the 25th anniversary of Roberto Benigni’s classic, “Life is Beautiful,” (1997) which won three Oscars (Best Actor, Foreign Language Film, and Score). This tragi-comedy is about an early 20th-century Italian-Jewish waiter, a Chaplinesque Guido (Roberto Benigni who writes, acts in, and directs the…


Inspiration and Popcorn: ‘Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è Bella)’: A Masterpiece as Joyful as It Is Deeply Touching

PG-13 | 1h 56min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 1997 Comedies that feature sensitive topics such as the Holocaust used to be more common. When done right, filmmakers with their hearts in the right place (and the talent to pull it off) have always known that comedy is a great way to not only break…