Life is Beautiful

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Review: 
This serves as a tamer, but every-bit-as-powerful, version of Schindler's List (at least in-so-far as it portrays the reality of the Nazi concentration camps and the hopelessness and unfairness suffered by its prisoners). Perhaps because this is a "fable" rather than biography, it manages to portray the awfulness of war in a more subtle way - without all the gore and through the eyes of a child. It's still quite intense, though, and would only be suitable for teens and adults. (I recommend that parents preview it themselves first.) The story follows an Italian Jew, his wife and son as they are sent to a concentration camp and struggle with life there. The father (Roberto Benigni), in particular uses his creativity and quirky sense of humor to keep his son alive and encourage his wife to remain hopeful.

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First reviewed: 
7-21-03