Roberto Begnini's gentle fable is in two parts. First, the
love-at-first
sight courtship of a sweet and funny man and a beautiful
schoolteacher, followed by a tale of a father's love for his wife
and son - and the lengths to which he will go to spare them the
cruelty of a Nazi concentration camp. Both halves of the film
meld well (unlike, say, Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, which is
really two movies), and the picture travels a road from sunny to
tense to dire, with Begnini at the heart, lending dignity as he
dances faster and faster. Begnini's film is neither historically accurate or particularly
reality-based. Indeed, the half of the film that occurs in the
concentration camp could have taken place over a period of
months, weeks or days. For this reason, Life is Beautiful has
come in for criticism from some quarters who a) believe that a
Holocaust movie should not necessarily be the backdrop for a
comedy, however bittersweet and/or b) that Begnini trivializes
and historically mutates the reality of Italian Jews during World
War II.
To these critics, I say: nuts. The overarching theme of the film
is a father's attempt to shield his son from death both physical
and spiritual, and it is effectively conveyed in a respectful
manner. To rebut that conveyance with complaints of inaccuracy or
improper tone is misplaced and anti-intellectual, as if there is
some politically correct blueprint or guideline for a film
depicting in any manner the Holocaust. Shoah has been made, as
has The Wansee Conference, as has NBC's Escape from Sobibor, with
the inimitable Rutger Hauer and Marilu Henner. Go see them, I
implore you, and make your own judgments (and while you are at
it, check out Enemies, A Love Story, which actually mines a
Holocaust survivor's post-trauma love triangle for a couple of
chuckles). But do not stilt artistic vision in the name of grim
devotion to past horror. Not for nothing these criticisms - from
both David Edelstein and a few on these threads - smack of
paternalistic preaching that might make the Christian Coalition
proud. Tarantino and Stone "glorify" violence, or so
they say. Lolita makes child molestation all the more probable,
or so they say. And Begnini's work, according to Edelstein,
follows this path: "Imagine Harpo Marx giving the hot foot
to a pompous official, who takes out a machine gun and blows him
away: That's how cheap Benigni's hash of farce and tragedy is.
It's a gas, all right."
Yes, David, yes. You can collect your official I'm A Sensitive
Keeper of the Grim Tenor of Concentration Camp Flicks ribbon. And
with that award goes a free ticket to Showtime's newest offering,
The Devil's Arithmetic - Kirsten Dunst is transported from modern
day history class, where she passes notes and ignores the
teacher's recitation of the the extermination, to a WWII-era
Poland . That'll learn her. Entertainment Weekly dubs it
"The Wizard of Oz meets Schindler's List." Shame.
Shame.
(Edelstein needs an outside interest, preferably something with
folks who will regularly give him a good smack)
I'm more and more convinced that the true critics of the film
just couldn't resist the obvious and scathing reference to
Hogan's Heroes. Sometimes, a cutting line can actually serve as a
point of view. And then, of course, self-flagellation is an art
for others, and shitting on Begnini's film is yet another way to
win one accolades of sensitivity.
Politics aside, the film begins brilliantly colorful, but mutes
to near-black and white as the story continues it necessarily
sorrowful pace. Certain of Begnini's choices are incredibly apt
(choices I cannot describe for fear of ruining certain plot
developments). Other than that, I can say little about the
direction, for my eye was trained on Begnini. His performance as
an unserious man at the most serious of times conjures up Chaplin
(another person we could criticize - how dare he benefit from
physical comedy while aping the creator of the concentration
camp, Adolf Hitler). His carefree and whimsy is tested as he
becomes separated from a rich life, his wife is torn from him,
and every day becomes a struggle to personally survive and
protect his son. Everyone else is quite good and the son is
particularly affecting (the Italians get me every time - I had
just gotten over the catharsis of Cinema Paradiso). It is
emotionally wrenching and it is not for children under 14, in my
view.
