Life is Beautiful essays

Life is Beautiful essays Throughout the course of history there have been events for which we are immensely proud of, and events that make us sick to our stomach. One such sickening time period was in the late 1930's and early 1940's during World War II when Nazi Germany strategically eliminated people of the Jewish faith. Because the events of World War II evoke such strong emotions, there have been many films made portraying the brutal carelessness for life that many Germans had. Usually these films take a completely serious approach to this issue, however Life is Beautiful does not. In 1997 Director Roberto Benigni released this movie to provide a never before seen viewpoint of the holocaust. Combining romance, comedy and tragedy, Life is Beautiful won three Oscars including best picture in 1997. It takes place in Italy for the first half of the movie where the main character, Guido Orefice, enjoys life to its fullest in an Italian city. Through a series of romantic and humorous events he meets the love of his life and they are on the verge of living happily ever after. That is where the movie changes face and Guido and his son, both Jewish, are taken by the Nazis. When his wife realizes what has happened, she demands to board the train to the concentration camp as well. In an effort to explain to his son what is happening to them, Guido makes up an elaborate story to satisfy his sons questions. Things appear to be improving for the family when Benigni meets a friend of his at the camp, only to find out he is a Nazi and will not help them. Then the war ends and it looks as if they can escape until Guido is captured and then killed. Thanks to Guidos ultimate sacrifice his son and wife are re-united in the end. Life is Beautiful was very accurate in terms of setting and costumes it used. Using bright and vivid colours at the beginning accentuated how great Guidos life was i...