Saturday, August 23, 2008

Life Is Beautiful


Life is Beautiful is set in Italy during World War II. It's about a chap named Guido and his journey to find love and the sacrifice he made for his family. All I have to say is I was very emotionally attached to this movie.

Everything is happy and comedic in the beginning. There are bright colors and beautiful scenery. The main character, Guido, is clever, witty, and charming. He falls in love with a women he calls the Princess, and they meet constantly, by his plans and by mistake. She is a teacher at an elementary school and he becomes a waiter. He hears from an important man he waited on that the Commissioner is supposed to speak at her school. He goes and pretends to be the Commissioner but isn't really serious, he just jokes around to get a date with the Princess. One thing a teacher said when she introduced Guido was that the Italian race is superior- the best of all. That connects with the Dinka saying they are superior to the Arabs.
When Guido is serving at a wedding dinner he gets a call from his Uncle who is outside. Some kids painted his horse green and made some remark about him being a Jew. His Uncle warns Guido that they'll start hassling him too, and this changes the mood of the movie, and World War II starts becoming more apparent. Nevertheless, after realizing the wedding dinner is actually the very unhappy Princess's, he comes into the fancy place riding his Uncle's green horse and rescues her from this unwanted marriage.

Time passes and Guido and the Princess get married and have an adorable Son. Everyone is happy until one day the Princess comes home and Guido, the Uncle, and her Son are gone, the house is trashed. She runs to where the Jews are being shipped off on trains and willingly goes on a train, even though she is not a Jew. Guido is still happy and upbeat, like always, and plays everything off like this is a game for his Son. When they get to the work camp the family is separated like in What is the What. Like how Achak ran off on his own and went on a journey to Ethiopia, his mom and dad were off somewhere else, but still alive. Guido and his Son go with the men in the camp while the Princess goes with the women.

Just like in What is the What and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, so many things connect. In this movie:
1. He was a waiter in Italy- He became a waiter in the camp.
2. The Doctor friend he had at home- The Doctor gives the check-ups at the camp, and could have saved his life since Guido wasn't very fit.
3. When Guido went to the opera to follow the Princess- He fearlessly plays the opera music over the camp so Princess hears, and she knows he is alive.
4. According to Guido's made-up game, which is the work camp, the winner gets a real tank, which the Son wanted before even leaving Italy- at the end of the movie, when he is alone in the camp because the war has ended and everyone is either dead or have left, a tank rolls in driven by Americans. He knows he won the game.
Things connect in Life is Beautiful from his life before the Holocaust, then during. In What things connect from his life in America, to his life in Sudan. In Haroun things connect from his time on Earth, to his adventure in Kahani.

When word came to the Nazis that the war was over and they lost, they spent a night killing as many Jews as they could, cleaning out the camp. Guido made sure his Son was hidden and went to look for his wife. He was caught and shot, but not after winking at his son who was properly hidden and he marched off all goofy with a Nazi leading him to an isolated place. I CRIED, it was so sad. In the end his Son and the Princess survived, and returned home.

2 comments:

Brandon said...

Generally, Raquel, your observations are apt and in depth. I wish there was more about the films and the connections with them, but this was a good effort. 95%.

Larzipan said...

That sounds like such a great movie! I've never heard of it, but now I want to rent it.