Comedy and Tragedy in Life is Beautiful

Between the late 1970s and mid-1980s, Italian cinema experienced a long crisis. During this time, commercial television shows began to proliferate, taking away the movie-going masses. Newer, faster ways to make and produce films meant more films were being made. This led to decreased showing times for individual films in the theaters, as there were always new films coming in to replace them. Genre films slowly died away. These problems all led to a sharp decline in film viewers, trapping the Italian movie industry in a corner. Soon, there were only two main types of films: art house or light comedy, which were increasingly isolated from one another. The more mainstream comedy films, which focused mostly on combining comedy and social taboos, became increasing popular, but had very short lifetimes in the public eye. A new generation of artists and directors has helped restore Italian cinema to glory since the end of the 1980s; among these men and women is Roberto Benigni.
Roberto Benigni was born in Arezzo, Tuscany in October of 1952. His talent for improvisation and comedy began early in life when he became a part of troubadour act that traveled rural Tuscany improvising songs and poetry and also worked as a circus clown. Benigni made his big break when he was 16; he leaped up on a platform in a town square and, pretending to be a political candidate, gave a jocular speech that kept the crowds cheering and laughing. In that audience was an avante-guard theater’s director, who invited Benigni to join his company in Rome. In Rome, Benigni worked in the theater, television, and film industries through the 1970s and early 1980s, initially performing successful monologues before he began being cast in small movie roles by big directors. Benigni made his directorial debut in 1982 with Tu mi turbi; he claims that he was nearly forced to become a director, due to Italy’s shortage of those willing to get involved with comedic films. (2)

Over the next two decades, Benigni’s signature look and act were developed. He had looks that were perfect for his comedic, often bumbling roles: a tall, lanky figure often dwarfed in suits just a bit too large; wild, receding hair that formed a disordered brown halo above his head; and an expressive face with an easy, mischievous grin. His characters were often thrown into hilariously coincidental situations and had to blunder their way through, often ignorant of the problems around them. Through some of his acting as well as some of his self-directed efforts, Benigni became popular with the American art house crowd, until he played a minor role in the failed 1993 film Son of the Pink Panther. However, despite this loss of global popularity, he remained very popular in Italy, drawing large crowds. (2)
In 1997, Benigni released the sixth film in which he was both director and starring actor, La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful), which won him his most acclaim to date. [u]La vita è bella[/u] is the poignant tale of a father’s love for his son and wife and that man’s efforts to shield his son from the horrors of the Holocaust. There are two distinct parts to the movie: the first half focuses on the main character, Guido, and his courting of the beautiful Dora; the second half focuses on Guido and his young son’s time spent in the concentration camp. (2) Roger Ebert said of these two distinct halves, “One is pure comedy. The other smiles through tears.”
An unknown narrator originally introduces La vita è bella, claiming that the story is a fable. In this half, viewers witness a comical love story that begins when Guido come blundering in to town in his friend’s car. Through a random sequence of events, he meets and falls in love with an upper-class schoolteacher, Dora. He uses several clever tricks to convince his beautiful “principessa” to marry him instead of the stiff, pretentious Fascist to whom she is engaged.
The first half of the film is light and funny, and Benigni’s directing and acting are appropriately matched to the mood. Often, the scenes are brightly lit and colorful, while the dialogue is cheerful and easy to laugh at. Benigni pulls of his clownish role spectacularly, making the audience root for his success in courting Dora, even as they wince at his over-the-top antics. Even the more ominous scenes in which Guido’s uncle is victimized by anti-Semantic vandals, who break into his home and later write slurs on his horse, are brushed off; the bright green horse with pink flowers in his hair seems more funny than frightening. The cinematography is relatively simple, favoring long or medium shots of the actors and typically sticking to eye-level instead of any complicated angles. Longer takes are also typically favored, as there is very little intensely paced action or tension that would require fast cutting.

The second half of the film begins with a clever fade in – viewers realize several years have passed, as Guido and Dora are now married, with a young son named Giosue. Things seem to be going nicely in their lives; it is Giosue’s birthday, and he and his father are off to their bookstore. On the way, Giosue spots a store sign that reads “No Jews or dogs allowed” and his father explains that it is simply arbitrary, and there is nothing wrong with Jews. Already, the audience can see Guido’s desire to protect his son and keep him innocent by using humor.
Their peaceful lives are quickly shattered, though, when Dora comes home to find that her husband, son, and uncle have been snatched by the Nazis and are destined for a concentration camp. Though a gentile, Dora volunteers to go with them, and the little family is whisked away to a darker world. Men and women are separated, so Guido finds himself alone with his son. In an effort to shield his son, Guido explains that the camp is all part of a contest to win a real tank, and that they must do certain things to earn points. Guido keeps up this protective farce until the very end, when he is caught on the eve of the Americans’ arrival. While being led away by a guard, he realizes his son is watching and does an exaggerated frog march before being led around the corner and shot. The ending is bittersweet, as Giosue gets his tank and is reunited with his mother, but has lost his father. At this point, the previously unknown narrator is revealed to be Giosue, all grown up.

The scenery in the second half of the movie, from the time the family boards the train until they exit the camp, is dark and dreary. The lighting is low, casting shadows, and the costumes are all drab and gray. The general mood created by this set up is somber, as is appropriate. Cinematography is once again simple, with long and medium shots as well as longer takes still being favored.
Though it has been criticized by some for portraying the Holocaust as a less harsh experience than it truly was (1, 5), La vita è bella is filled with heart-rending moments. In all but one scene, the violence is not seen, but implied. For example, on the bus ride to the camp, a young Jewish girl is shown clutching her kitten to her chest. In a later scene, Dora and other women are seen folding the clothes left by those who were sent into the gas chamber to die; on top of these clothes is the lonely kitten, left by his young mistress. Though the audience does not witness her death, they know it has happened, all the same.

Overall, despite the loss and pain portrayed, this movie is an excellent work. It was tremendously popular in Italy and won numerous international awards. The film paints a beautiful story that brings laughter along with the tears. Benigni portrays the boisterous Guido perfectly, turning the story from tragedy to near-comedy. The acting, sounds, and cinematography are all ideal for this movie; instead of fast cuts and in-your-face violence, simplicity and subtlety is favored. This allows for the story to unfold, and the audience is able to absorb all of the comedy, tragedy, and love that this “fable” has to offer.