Madrigal Cianci 1

Juan Pablo Madrigal Cianci

Katie Sartror
ENG 120-010
28 January 2015
Film Review Proposal: La Vita Bella

The 1930s are running, Hitler and Mussolini start rising into power, and an air of racism
and anti-Semitism can be felt through Europe. Meanwhile, Guido (Roberto Benigni), a
goofy Jewish fortune seeker, moves to Rome in search of a better future. On his way
there, he meets Dora (Nicoletta Braschi) with whom he immediately falls in love with.
Through a combination of casualties and planned surprises, Guido keeps running into
Dora, always greeting her with a charismatic Buongiorno, principessa! It doesnt take
long for Dora to correspond this goofs love and to give up her fianc and a life of luxury
to start a life with Guido. To this point, this is a very entertaining, romantic-comedy-like
film; it is full of hilarious gags, the plot hasnt been developed that much beyond the love
story, and the shots are bright and give an overall upbeat feeling to the film. Guido and
Dora have a child, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini), and both their lives revolve around their
little blessing. By the time Giosue is five, the Reich has totally risen and the holocaust has
begun. At this point, the story and the feel of the movie take a much darker, deeper
direction. It doesnt take too long before Guido and his family are forced into a
concentration camp. While being held captive, Guido finds the sweetest, most
heartbreaking way possible to convince his son that being there is just a game, that they

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will get a very pleasant reward, and that he shouldnt be scared. What started as a rather
silly comedy, quickly became a much deeper movie.
This film deals with a very important topic that has been brilliantly depicted on
many films: The Holocaust and its relation to human condition. The Holocaust (from
the Greek holkaustos: hlos, "whole" and kausts, "burnt") also known as
Shoa in Hebrew, was a genocide in which approximately six million Jews were killed by
the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Killings took place throughout Nazi occupied
territories during World War II.
Most films about the Jewish genocide tend to be dark and pessimistic, however,
what makes La vita e Bella unique is its use of comedy and the approach it takes by
showing its audience the Holocaust through the eyes of a hopeless optimistic. Being
arguably one of the biggest tragedies for mankind (6 million Jewish and around 5 million
non-Jewish victims), it shouldnt come as a surprise that this topic has been largely
presented in film over the years. This is made so it will create awareness. So it will never
repeat itself. So people will never forget.
Examples of other film productions related to this topic are Spielbergs
Schindlers List, Polanskys Pianist or Hermans The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas among
many others.
My proposal is to review this film in the scope of the holocaust and its relation to
human condition.

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Reflection
I think that with this review Im fulfilling SLO C by researching to explore their
own beliefs, SLO E by considering others' positions, and SLO J by writing for an
academic audience.