Life is Beautiful (1997)

An ode to innocence and the odyssey of a father trying to keep his son from learning of the horrible fate that awaits them so that his heart does not suffer.

This film is incredible, on the one hand it shows the horrors of the Second World War, the persecution and execution of the Jews by the Nazis in the concentration camps and on the other hand the innocence of a child who sees everything as a game to earn points, as his father told him.

Roberto Benigni is not only the director and co-writer of the play but also its protagonist, he plays Guido Orefice, an Italian of Jewish origin, owner of a bookstore who manages to make the concentration camp a less cruel place in the eyes of his son Giosué, to whom he instills that if he gets 1000 points he will win a real tank, so he should not cry, ask for food or want to see his mother because they will lose points.

The story is partially based on the book "In the end I defeated Hitler" written by Rubibo Romeo Salmoni who was a holocaust survivor and on the experiences of Benigni's father who spent two years in a concentration camp.

Undoubtedly, this film shows that love is above all and is capable of changing everyone's life, thanks to it a doctor who meets Guido instead of sending him to the gas chamber puts him to work as a waiter and this is essential for the future of the father and son.

The film won a large number of awards, including the Oscar for best actor, best foreign film and best soundtrack, the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was trained and was a cinematic success, surpassing 200 million dollars in box office.

It is considered a classic film and its plot has remained interesting over the years.

Benigni returned in 2021 as lead actor, screenwriter and director in the film "The Tiger and the Snow", a direct criticism of the invasion of Iraq.