Life Is Beautiful
Academy Award × 3
Rent/Purchase
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
What critics thought
DivisiveBenigni's Holocaust fable divides critics sharply along a single fault line: whether using comedy and sentiment to depict the death camps is an act of humanist courage or an evasion that softens unbearable history into something palatable. Audiences have embraced it far more warmly than professional critics, whose reaction at the time ranged from genuinely moved to deeply uncomfortable. The debate has only grown more pointed over the decades, with scholars and filmmakers arguing about whether the film honors or diminishes the victims it portrays.
“A deeply moving blend of cold terror and rapturous hilarity. Lovingly crafted by Italy's top comedian and most popular filmmaker, it's that rare comedy that takes on a daring and ambitious subject and proves worthy of it.”
Michael Wilmington·Chicago Tribune
“even a hint of the truth about the Holocaust would crush [Benigni]'s comedy”
Richard Schickel·Time
“undeniably some sort of feat—the first feel-good Holocaust weepie. It's been a long time coming.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“what is surprising about this unlikely film is that it succeeds as well as it does. Its sentiment is inescapable, but genuine poignancy and pathos are also present, and an overarching sincerity is visible too.”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“Benigni's sentimental fantasy diminishes the suffering of Holocaust victims.”
Tom Dawson·BBC
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Cast & Crew
DirectorRoberto Benigni
StarringRoberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano, Sergio Bini Bustric
ComposerNicola Piovani
Life Is Beautiful
Academy Award × 3
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
What critics thought
DivisiveBenigni's Holocaust fable divides critics sharply along a single fault line: whether using comedy and sentiment to depict the death camps is an act of humanist courage or an evasion that softens unbearable history into something palatable. Audiences have embraced it far more warmly than professional critics, whose reaction at the time ranged from genuinely moved to deeply uncomfortable. The debate has only grown more pointed over the decades, with scholars and filmmakers arguing about whether the film honors or diminishes the victims it portrays.
“A deeply moving blend of cold terror and rapturous hilarity. Lovingly crafted by Italy's top comedian and most popular filmmaker, it's that rare comedy that takes on a daring and ambitious subject and proves worthy of it.”
Michael Wilmington·Chicago Tribune
“even a hint of the truth about the Holocaust would crush [Benigni]'s comedy”
Richard Schickel·Time
“undeniably some sort of feat—the first feel-good Holocaust weepie. It's been a long time coming.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“what is surprising about this unlikely film is that it succeeds as well as it does. Its sentiment is inescapable, but genuine poignancy and pathos are also present, and an overarching sincerity is visible too.”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
“Benigni's sentimental fantasy diminishes the suffering of Holocaust victims.”
Tom Dawson·BBC
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Cast & Crew
DirectorRoberto Benigni
StarringRoberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano, Sergio Bini Bustric
ComposerNicola Piovani
Rent/Purchase