Love Conquers All

When I was a senior in high school, I recall many of my teachers referencing this movie and suggesting that all of us see it. The chaperones on my February trip to the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C., were especially emphatic in their praise of this film. I am surprised, actually, that it took me this long to see it. But see it I finally did. Last weekend my mom decided that we should rent it, telling me that she had been wanting to see it for quite some time. I expected that we would be watching a subtitled version; much to my surprise, it was dubbed. But while others have noted that they soon got past the distraction of the subtitles, I soon got past the distraction of the lips not being entirely consistent with the sounds which they produced.

By the time we got to the video store, it was 11:00 p.m. I had been assuming all along that my 12-year-old brother would go elsewhere while we were watching the movie; now, given the time, I figured he would just go to bed. I honestly didn't think the film would hold any interest for him. I was wrong. The three of us stayed up until after 1:00 on a Saturday night to watch Life is Beautiful, and none of us had any trouble staying awake for the duration.

The movie stars Roberto Begnini as Guido, a vibrant, comical fellow who wins the heart of the audience from the beginning. An Italian Jew, Guido wishes to open a bookshop but is forced to begin his life in the new town he has come to as a waiter in the Grand Hotel under the employment of his Uncle Leo. In a memorable scene, he engages in a hobbit-esque riddle contest with Dr. Lessing, a German physician for whom solving riddles is an obsession. Remember this man, for he will reappear at a crucial point towards the end of the film. So intent is the good doctor on his riddles that he refuses to eat. When an unexpected -- and very rich -- customer arrives, Guido must rush to bring him a satisfactory dinner despite the fact that the kitchen has all but ceased operation for the night. His solution is simple but brilliant and sets the stage for his next trick.

The first hour of the movie is a light comedy concerned with Guido's pursuit of Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a young schoolteacher who he keeps capriciously running into (quite literally) in a number of hilarious instances. Unfortunately, his "principessa" is soon to be married to a boorish upper-class fascist who is every bit as despicable as Rose's fiance in Titanic. Not only is she engaged, she is Catholic. But Guido manages to convince her of his piety by invoking Mary several times, each with immediate gratification. His wit, charm, and tenacity soon win her over, and he sweeps her away from her engagement party on a green Jewish horse (so marked by the fascists, hinting at the trouble soon to come).

We rejoin Dora and Guido about five years later, now happily married with an adorable son, Joshua (Giorgio Cantarini). Guido finally has his bookstore, and the little family is thriving despite the increasing signs of prejudice against Jews. Guido side-steps the issue comically with his son, foreshadowing his tactics during the darker portion of the film. When Joshua asks why a certain store has a sign reading "No dogs or Jews," Guido replies that all store owners have signs like that. He goes on to describe an instance in which his Chinese friend with a pet kangaroo was denied entrance to a store because of such a sign (reading, of course, "no kangaroos or Chinese"). He promises Joshua that they will put one up as well, and the boy demands that spiders be the outlawed animals.

The day of Joshua's birthday arrives, and the family has a grand party planned for him. Dora's mother will be attending; she has been absent from her grandson's life up until this point. Before the party, Joshua puts up a valiant fight to avoid bathing before his party. His aversion to baths and showers will play an important role in a later scene which is both frightening and entertaining. The joyous day is cut short when Dora goes to pick up her mother and returns to find the house a shambles. Guido and Joshua have been taken.

At this point I urged Nathan to go to bed. I didn't think he would be able to handle the concentrations camp, particularly right before bed. He was setting himself up for horrible nightmares. But he insisted on staying. And so the movie transitioned as Dora, unable to convince the train station guard to release Guido, Joshua, and Uncle Leo, demands to board the train that is taking her family to the concentration camp. Joshua is pleased, because Guido has already told him that this abrupt journey is a surprise for his birthday. Upon arriving at the camp, Joshua expresses his distaste for the train ride; Guido agrees with his disappointment and promises that they will take a bus on the ride home.

Guido and Joshua are able to stay together, but Uncle Leo and Dora are taken to different parts of the camp. "They're on other teams," Guido explains. He tells his son that this is all a great big game and that the winner will receive a real tank. When they arrive in the barracks, he translates the rules of the camp for the company -- except that he doesn't know German, and he makes it up as he goes along, creating the rules of the game which Joshua must play. Whenever Joshua expresses doubt as to the way the game is going, Guido restores his faith, and he assures his son that the children who are telling him the truth about the camps are really just trying to throw him off and win the tank for themselves.

Despite the hard labor he must perform all day and the heavy foreboding that is weighing him down, Guido puts all his energy into protecting his son's innocence and keeping his faith alive. At the same time, he find ways to let his wife know that he is still alive and thinking about her. The manner in which he accomplishes these tasks is often just short of miraculous, and my brother noted that "he can't keep this up forever". If a date had been mentioned previously in the movie, I missed it; I had no idea how far along the war was. I told Nathan that maybe the camps were on the verge of being liberated. Relief flooded through me when this turned out to be the case.

But the horror was not over yet. The final hours before the liberation of the camp are the most terrifying yet, and circumstances are about to test how far a man's love for his family can go. I won't reveal the ending except to say that it is bittersweet. No movie about the Holocaust can end happily; far too many lives were ruined for that. But they can end hopefully, and this one does.

Life is Beautiful is a hilarious comedy, a riveting drama, a frightening look into one of the most horrifying events in history. But most of all, it is a love story. A story of a man's love for his wife, his love for his son, his love for life. A story of the power of love to triumph over the direst of circumstances. A story more than deserving of the praise which was heaped upon it.

I was shocked to discover that my mom had not known anything about the movie except its language of origin previous to watching it. She'd only heard that it was a wonderful film. The horrors of the camp hit her very hard. Nathan, meanwhile, was left feeling optimistic after the film's final resolution. Both agreed that it was a wonderful movie; I certainly concurred.

As for the contention that a comedy about the Holocaust makes light of the suffering there, I feel compelled to quote Hawkeye Pierce, M*A*S*H's famous comic. When asked how he could always be making jokes while spending his days amidst the bloody aftermath of battle, he replied, "It's the only way I can open my mouth without screaming." The Holocaust was a terrible chapter in world history. As such, it is the ideal backdrop for a film which attempts to prove that hope springs eternal and sometimes laughter really is the best medicine.