Life Is Beautiful - Movie Review

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charming conduct. Guido is always able to manipulate situations he is given in order to make them seem magical; another way he is charming and typical of an Italian. Benigni’s integration of Guido’s comic Italian behavior in the film is extremely important; it is this that makes Life is Beautiful known for it’s near impossible hilarity when the movie is about one of the most tragic events in European history. Without Guido’s silly attitude, the movie would not have successfully been the unexpected comedy about the Holocaust that it is today.

Not only does Life is Beautiful use Italian culture to achieve the authenticity that it has, but Benigni ties in both historical and political aspects into the film that makes it feel like it is genuinely 1940’s Italy. For instance, there seemed to be a sudden rise of racist manner in Italy during the movie. In one scene, Guido and Joshua are out in the town when Joshua reads a sign on a store window that says “No Jews or dogs allowed.” This certain shop is willing to lose business from a large population, the Jewish, purely to ostracize the race and put them on the same level as dogs. Of course, Guido takes this lightly and does not make it seem like a big deal to his young son who is mostly ignorant of the events taking place around him. The same day, officials come into Guido’s bookshop in order to “check up.” The officials are only checking up on Guido’s business because it is a Jewish store. Again, Guido makes this seem like no big deal to his son. Another scene that is taken place at Guido’s store shows him closing the door to his shop; on his door, it reads “Jewish store” in large letters. At the time, Jewish store owners were required to tell their store visitors that their store was run by Jews. The historical and political aspects of Life is Beautiful is extremely crucial in the development of the film because it allows it to be genuine and realistic. Additionally, it shows how remarkable of a character Guido is- he is always happy and full of life, showing just how family oriented he remains during the difficult period of time. Guido is constantly able to stay optimistic about life around his son even though he is aware of the horrors that are occurring all around them.

After watching the film, I was astonished by Guido’s character. Throughout the whole movie, Guido remains his silly self, even though he goes through numerous hardships that others would have extreme trouble going through. For example, after Guido is caught by an official trying to sneak into the women’s side of the camp to see his wife, he is walking to an alley where we will be shot to death. He knows this is his end, but when he sees his son looking through the box, he acts silly as if everything is alright, although he knows it is the last time he’ll see his son. Never did Guido cry or complain, Guido was always busy keeping his son unaware of the tragedy they were truly going through. Through Guido, I was able to learn that with laughter and love, the human can go through anything. By being extremely genuine, the film brought me a new awareness of the Italian culture. After watching Guido’s endlessly optimistic character and his ability to pass on his enthusiasm for life to his son, I learned that the majority of the Italian culture is extremely family oriented, along with being crazy and comical no matter what. I am sure that Guido’s beautifully crafted character made viewers realize that if he can be cheerful during one of the most appalling events in history, we can get through obstacles as well and should be extremely grateful for our safety and

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