Life is Beautiful This triple-Oscar winner is in two distinct half. It begins in Italy, 1939. In the fairytale section, our Jewish hero meets and woos a young woman, eventually marrying her and having a son. Then the real world enters in the form of the holocaust, and the family is sent to a concentration camp. There, dad does his best to protect his young son from the horror of their situation, through various games. The film comes in at number 11 on the IMDB Top 250. Italian with English subtitles. 114 minutes, All ages. Comedy, Drama. Read a commentary by Wilhelm Snyman, Cape Times. You can usually find additional (copyrighted) pictures, trailers, etc, on the Official Site. Where's it showing?

The Moviesite Fan Club comments

Isma Manitsa: Simultaneously evoked tears and laughter - certainly worth every oscar it received! Theanette Leisse: Great! It shows you that Life is beautiful! I definitely want to see it again! Penny de Vries: Eye Weekly missed the point; there is no way Benigni was poking fun at the Holocaust. If anything his treatment of it highlights the unbelievably subhuman aberrations in a manner more telling than an obvious treatment. One of my all time favourites already! Sheridon Lambert: I had reservations about the suitability of using humour in the context of the Holocaust. I realize that the film never treats the holocaust as funny. It only shows us that believe in something other than ourselves is life affirming. Arauna Zeelie: The Holocaust has always facinated me. I knew what I was in for, but the impact was still tremendous. The only problem I had is that the subject matter was treated that litely - it is the Holocaust after all? Renee Nieuwoudt: Absolutely wonderful! Chris Shao: I think lots of people missed one point. It said right at the begining that this "fairy tale" is from the little boy's point of view. The director surely wasn't "poking fun at the holocaust", but what does a little boy know? From the little boy's point of view, the whole story was kinda fun. Very well directed. Full credit to Roberto Benigni. I am going to watch it again tomorrow :) Reyaaz Hassan: People forget that the movie is told from the point of view of the little boy - it's a fairy tale and at the end he thanks his father for this gift - this gift of laughter and humour in the face of sub-human adversity. Definitely in my top ten of all time - a tear swelling ending. Brilliant. Heenie van Tonder: Beautiful!! Lola Mogaji: Life is beautiful is a great movie. If you do not understand affection and protection of family, you can not appreciate it. I even cried!