Life is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian film that was directed and starred in by Roberto Benigni. This film portrays the intertwining lives of a Jewish male named Guido (Benigni) and an Italian female named Dora (Nicoletta Braschi). Set in Italy during World War 2, Benigni’s film brings to the forefront the matter of discrimination and hatred spewed at Jews in a comedic manner. Utilizing his comedic strength, Benigni is able to address the touchy topic while ironically limiting the Nazi aggression within the film.
The film begins by introducing Guido as a rather humorous individual travelling to the city side to live along with his uncle, working as a waiter at his restaurant. During the travel, Guido happens upon Dora, a beautiful teacher from …show more content…
One of Guido’s ploys to see Dora turns into him lecturing several elementary school students, including teachers, upon the superiority of the Italian race. The principal of the school expresses her pride at Guido’s appearance as the Inspector from Rome to explain the superiority of the Italian race, backed by scientific evidence. Making the most of the opportunity, he pokes fun at this idea of a superior race. Guido hypnotizes the students and teachers, referencing that he is willing to share his knowledge bestowed upon him by, “racist Italian scientists.” The satirical and ironic scene shows the uselessness and difficulty with identifying superiors. Guido, put on the spot by the principal, gives humorous evidence as why he exemplifies the perfect race. He has the perfect ear with moveable cartilage that no one else could possibly have. It is the ear that all in France supposedly dream of. He then moves on to point out his perfect bellybutton, a distinguishing characteristic of the Italian race. This whole section within the first part of the film is making fun of the racist logic of the Fascist government in Italy but at the same time, is identifying the flawed thinking of the Nazi government in Germany. Likewise, his act shows that it is impossible to create a mechanism to identifying the …show more content…
For some odd reason, there are little to none Nazi aggressions. If one were to count, they may only be able to trace three to four incidents. This does not give the Jewish people their due justice for the crimes committed against them. When comparing this film with others films about the Holocaust, it seems a bit hideous for not displaying the atrocities of the internment camps. It almost appears that the Nazi troops are respected for being kind and sympathetic. This reaction of mine is amplified because of my recent viewing of the film The Shawshank Redemption in which the prison inmates were treated considerably worse. When inmates in the Shawshank prison get beat to death over silly issues and sentenced to a month in the hole for playing Italian music, it is almost ironic to see Guido not get punished for pulling the same trick in the internment camp. While in reality the two settings are incomparable, it seems to be that The Shawshank prison is a worse punishment than going to a Nazi internment camp. Though no such comparison would have been intended by Benigni, this may just happen to be a tool used to place more emphasis upon the uncertainty of life for Jewish people, the foolishness of seeking out a perfect and pure race, and the loving relationship between Guido and his family. The constant romance between Guido and Dora overshadows the reality of the situation facing the Jews and other persecuted
The film begins by introducing Guido as a rather humorous individual travelling to the city side to live along with his uncle, working as a waiter at his restaurant. During the travel, Guido happens upon Dora, a beautiful teacher from …show more content…
One of Guido’s ploys to see Dora turns into him lecturing several elementary school students, including teachers, upon the superiority of the Italian race. The principal of the school expresses her pride at Guido’s appearance as the Inspector from Rome to explain the superiority of the Italian race, backed by scientific evidence. Making the most of the opportunity, he pokes fun at this idea of a superior race. Guido hypnotizes the students and teachers, referencing that he is willing to share his knowledge bestowed upon him by, “racist Italian scientists.” The satirical and ironic scene shows the uselessness and difficulty with identifying superiors. Guido, put on the spot by the principal, gives humorous evidence as why he exemplifies the perfect race. He has the perfect ear with moveable cartilage that no one else could possibly have. It is the ear that all in France supposedly dream of. He then moves on to point out his perfect bellybutton, a distinguishing characteristic of the Italian race. This whole section within the first part of the film is making fun of the racist logic of the Fascist government in Italy but at the same time, is identifying the flawed thinking of the Nazi government in Germany. Likewise, his act shows that it is impossible to create a mechanism to identifying the …show more content…
For some odd reason, there are little to none Nazi aggressions. If one were to count, they may only be able to trace three to four incidents. This does not give the Jewish people their due justice for the crimes committed against them. When comparing this film with others films about the Holocaust, it seems a bit hideous for not displaying the atrocities of the internment camps. It almost appears that the Nazi troops are respected for being kind and sympathetic. This reaction of mine is amplified because of my recent viewing of the film The Shawshank Redemption in which the prison inmates were treated considerably worse. When inmates in the Shawshank prison get beat to death over silly issues and sentenced to a month in the hole for playing Italian music, it is almost ironic to see Guido not get punished for pulling the same trick in the internment camp. While in reality the two settings are incomparable, it seems to be that The Shawshank prison is a worse punishment than going to a Nazi internment camp. Though no such comparison would have been intended by Benigni, this may just happen to be a tool used to place more emphasis upon the uncertainty of life for Jewish people, the foolishness of seeking out a perfect and pure race, and the loving relationship between Guido and his family. The constant romance between Guido and Dora overshadows the reality of the situation facing the Jews and other persecuted