`LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL' BALANCES DAD'S SWEETNESS, NAZI TERROR.Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Film Critic ``Life Is Beautiful'' has been labeled in some publications as a ``concentration camp comedy.'' It's a shorthand description that's accurate up to a point, but one that ultimately trivializes this movie's tremendous power and beauty. Italian filmmaker Roberto Benigni has crafted a masterpiece that delicately mixes comedy and tragedy in a way that you'd never think possible. This is a movie unlike any other this reviewer has ever seen, a transcendent work that indelibly shows how the human spirit, using humor and imagination, can overcome anything. ``Life Is Beautiful'' is composed of two distinct halves. The film begins in 1939, when Guido (Benigni), a childlike dreamer, comes to a Tuscany town looking to open a bookstore. There he falls in love with the beautiful Dora (Nicoletta Braschi Nicoletta Braschi (born August 10, 1960) is an Italian actress, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director Roberto Benigni. She has also collaborated with American director Jim Jarmusch. , Benigni's real-life wife), whom he charms by constantly popping up in unexpected places. Dora is engaged to a fascist official, the same bureaucrat Guido has been hounding for a permit to open his store, but you know it's only a matter of time before she drops this loser and goes off with her elegant clown suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) . Skip ahead and it's 1944 and the Nazis have occupied Italy. Guido and Dora, now married, have a son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini), who can't understand why the local pastry shop prohibits Jews and dogs. Using humor to shield his son from the encroaching nightmare, Guido tells him that stores can make whatever rules they want. He then asks him, ``What do you hate?'' For Giosue, it's spiders. ``OK, then,'' Guido replies. ``Tomorrow we put a sign on our store that says, `No spiders and Visigoths.' '' Tomorrow, though, never comes. Guido and Giosue are shipped off to a Nazi death camp and Dora voluntarily follows them. Again, Guido's first concern is to protect his son's heart. He tells Giosue that their new surroundings are part of an elaborate game, and if they play it well enough, Giosue will win a tank. Guido carries this ruse Ruse (r  `sĕ), city (1993 pop. 170,209), NE Bulgaria, on the Danube River bordering Romania. The chief river port of Bulgaria, it is also an industrial and communications center. off through his comical (and astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, ) ability to think fast. For instance, when a German guard asks for an interpreter so he can lay down the camp rules, Guido volunteers. He can't speak a word of German, of course, but he can ``translate'' the guard's words for his son. As the soldier barks out the regulations, Guido lays out the contest's details: Points are earned by hiding, keeping quiet and not asking for a snack or crying for Mommy. Giosue understands, and, in turn, has a chance to survive. The first half of ``Life Is Beautiful'' is reminiscent of Benigni's earlier movies with its honorable, accident-prone hero and emphasis on light, physical comedy. The courtship scenes are genuine and romantic, and Benigni (who also co-wrote the film) even gets in a few digs at the rigidity of fascism in a scene where he masquerades as a state official giving a talk on the superiority of the Italian race. The film's supreme accomplishment comes when it shifts to the death camp and still manages to maintain its delicate balance between sweetness and sorrow. In fact, ``Life Is Beautiful'' achieves its heartbreaking poignancy because Benigni was able to achieve a lighthearted light·heart·ed adj. Not being burdened by trouble, worry, or care; happy and carefree. See Synonyms at glad1. light air at the outset. It only makes what happens later all the more devastatingly sad. The movie doesn't pretend to be a historical document of the Holocaust. Benigni knows full well that he can't paint a realistic or accurate picture of the camp and achieve his film's goals, so he establishes it as a stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. monster's lair. The nightmare is always there in the background, but Guido bravely acts as if it is all a joke. In the face of death, he has the audacity to believe that life really is beautiful. After seeing this magnificent film, you will agree. THE FACTS The film: ``Life Is Beautiful'' (PG-13; Holocaust-related thematic elements). The stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini. Behind the scenes: Directed by Roberto Benigni. Screenplay by Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami. Released by Miramax Films. Running time: One hour, 55 minutes. Playing: Landmark Fine Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a small club theatre in London, England. In August 1955, Peter Hall, aged 24, directed the English-language premiere of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the theatre. This was an important turning point in modern theatre for Britain. in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. ; Landmark Westside Pavilion The Westside Pavilion is a shopping mall located in West Los Angeles. It is owned and operated by The Macerich Company. It is a three story urban-style shopping mall with 150 shops and is anchored by a Macy's (formerly May Company and later Robinsons-May) and a Nordstrom. in West Los Angeles
Our rating: Four stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Giorgio Cantarini, left, stars with Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi in Benigni's ``Life Is Beautiful,'' a tale of how an Italian father helps his son cope with imprisonment Imprisonment See also Isolation. Alcatraz Island former federal maximum security penitentiary, near San Francisco; “escapeproof.” [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 218] Altmark, the German prison ship in World War II. [Br. Hist. in a Nazi concentration camp. |
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