Much criticism has been aimed at 'Life is Beautiful' for trying to mix comedy with what is one of the most horrific events of the twentieth century. Is the criticism justified? Does the promotional trailer give any sense of the horror experienced by the Jews during the Holocaust? Does this focus upon romantic comedy not trivialize this period in history?

Benigni, the star and director of the film, claims that the film is not meant to be seen as a realistic portrayal of the times, it is more a fable about love. Does this let him off the hook? Is, in fact, Benigni trying to do something which has hardly been attempted before in films which deal with the Holocaust?

One could say that the film falls into two parts - the first shows us Guido's life before he is deported to the camp. In the second part we see Guido's and Giosué's experiences in the camp.

In the first section of the film, how do we know that Guido is Jewish?

Are we given any clues? What sort of character is Guido? How is he portrayed?

What sense are we given of his family life?

When Guido and Giosué are taken away, we get a severe shock, just as he does. He has no idea where he is going and what will happen. Survivors of the concentration camps point to this as a naive representation of what actually happened to them. They say that everybody knew what was happening.

One point that needs making, however, is that many of the survivors are from Germany, Poland and Russia. Their experiences came out of years of having been repressed, at times centuries of persecution and violence.

The situation in Italy, however, was different. Jews had been assimilated into Italian life for over two centuries. Although Mussolini introduced racial laws (think of the example in 'Life is Beautiful' where Giosué reads the notice 'No Dogs or Jews'), there was not a tradition of anti-semitism which had existed in Germany and Poland before the war.

If you look at the statistics, then you will see that the percentage of Italian Jews who died in the Holocaust was one of the smallest in Europe (compare this figure with the number of Polish Jews who were murdered by the Nazis). Thus the background in Italy to the Holocaust and the perspectives on it would be different to that of many of the survivors.

'Life is Beautiful' also points to many of the absurdities of the laws and attitudes which informed the anti-semitic policies of both the Nazis and the Italain Fascists. We have already mentioned the 'No Dogs and Jews' epsiode. There is also the point which is made when the Fascists paint Guido's uncle's horse green (because it belongs to a Jew. As Guido points out, how can a horse be Jewish. Finally, there is the barbed attack on the idea of 'racial purity' where Guido impersonates the school inspector and points to his racially pure belly button.

 

Film still from Roberto Benigni's 'Life is Beautiful' (La Vita è Bella)

Is it wrong to make these points through comedy? Perhaps it is the only way in which to point out just how stupid many of the laws were which were passed at the time.

However, the film might not dwell on the consequences of these laws.

 

Film still from Roberto Benigni's 'Life is Beautiful' (La Vita è Bella)

In the second part of the film where the family is taken to the concentration camp, there is a change in approach. Many survivors of the camps point to the following impossibilities which form part of the story of 'Life is Beautiful':

1. It is unlikely that Giosué would have survived.

2. It would have been impossible for Guido to use the camp tannoy.

3. It would have been impossible for Guido to mistranslate the Germans' orders so that he could carry on with the 'game' that he invented.

What we need to ask is 'does this matter'? Benigni says he is not trying to faithfully portray the events of the Holocaust. Is, however, the subject matter so sensitive that it can only be approached in certain ways?