Directed by:
Roberto BenigniCinematography:
Tonino Delli ColliComposer:
Nicola PiovaniCast:
Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano, Marisa Paredes, Horst Buchholz, Verena Buratti, Gina Rovere, Andrea Tidona (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Guido is a charming, bumbling Jewish waiter whose colorful imagination and playful spirit help him to woo a beautiful schoolteacher. The couple marries and has a young son, but before long their idyllic world is threatened by Nazi soldiers who force the family into a concentration camp. Guido must now use his imagination again. (Miramax Films)
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Reviews (8)
The experience of a lifetime. If all films carried messages and emotions like this one, the civilised world could be truly beautiful, joyful and free of ugly ethical crimes. Because if, instead of bloody slaughter and advocacy of violence, we only watched Roberto Benigni singing and playing with his unsuspecting son in a concentration camp, we could never come up with the wrong ideas. Okay, it would certainly get boring soon, but for once it's simply an indescribable viewer's ecstasy. Thanks Roberto! 100%
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This is a film that shows a person who can love incredibly, purely, and without being evil. It may be somewhat naive, but at the same time, it's a beautiful portrayal of what essentially is the ideal of love for a child and for another human being. Something that virtually none of us can do. It’s so beautiful that, in contrast to the events, it sends shivers down your spine.
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I’ll give this Italian film four stars, but it’s quite on the edge. I don’t want to diminish the quality of the film as a whole; I certainly don’t condemn it, but I also can’t sing its praises with a clear conscience. For me, the film is divided into two halves. The first half presents itself as a zany comedy, and Roberto Benigni navigates this genre like a fish in water. You’ll laugh at some of the jokes, but this part lacks that extra value for me. The second half, however, runs like a Swiss watch for most of its duration. The clash between the fairy-tale competition, where the main prize is a tank (as the father tries to convince his son), and the horrific reality of life in a concentration camp, really tugs at your heart. The young boy delivers a truly exceptional performance, and the film is accompanied by beautiful music. The ending perfectly balances between a tragic and a happy conclusion. If it were more balanced, it could have aimed for a higher rating. 7.5/10
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Robert Benigni is basically a better director than he is actor. While from his position as director he managed to imprint a very positive and “humanist" mood, he fails as an actor so much that, while being the only downside, he is a massive drawback for the movie. His Guido is supposed to be a pleasantly talkative, optimistic dreamer, but in the end he is just one of those completely unbearable people who can’t keep his mouth shut even for one moment. Everything else about this movie is excellent, from the screenplay, through the technical aspects to the supporting actors... and he keeps going on and on.
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An expertly crafted Italian masterpiece which I will never appreciate. In the beginning, I was given a romantic comedy, and since I watched the movie without knowing the premise, I could never have been prepared for such a drastic disruption of the atmosphere they had built. I would have accepted the complete change of storytelling style and transformation into a war drama, but the attempt to lighten the later chilling moments most of the time only made me more unsettled. Then even the most famous scene of the whole film loses its power. Objectively speaking, Roberto Benigni knows what he's doing, the concept and the entire plot are worth it, but as his audience, I don't feel connected.
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