At the end of the last century, the wonderful film "Life is Beautiful" (1997) of Italian production was released. The tape with a relatively small budget (only $ 20 million) collected at the box office many times more - almost 230 million. The story of the creation of the film "Life is Beautiful" (1997), actors, director, audience recognition - in our material.
Briefly about the film
The 1997 film Life is Beautiful, whose genre is defined as tragicomedy, immediately after its appearance on the screens caused a storm of emotions - both among a simple audience and among film critics. The tape, lasting almost two hours, proved to be recognized not only in his native Italy, but also in the world, thus obtaining truly world-wide fame and popularity. She was repeatedly marked with various awards (we will return to them later), including taking the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival and three Oscars in 1998. And the director, and one of the authors of the script, and the performer of the main male party was the same person - Roberto Benigni.
The plot of the picture
First of all, we give a description of the film Life is Beautiful (1997). In the center of the plot is the most ordinary Jewish family, of which there are a million. In the yard - 1939, the scene - Italy.
The first part of the picture is more romantic. It describes the acquaintance of the main characters, the Jew Guido and the Italian Dora. Guido comes from the village where he used to live in Arezzo in order to work there. Guido is cheerful, charming and kind, and therefore at first glance conquers Dora when they accidentally met. Dora is very pretty and smart, she works as a teacher at school and arouses lively interest from Guido. They find much in common with each other, their feelings capture them completely and completely, and they enter into a marriage in which the wonderful little son Josue is born. An already married couple, Guido and Dora open their own bookstore. They are happy to be together and enjoy life, but they do not know that peacetime for them will soon end.
The second part of the film "Life is Beautiful" (1997) is much more difficult and tragic. Italy remains the scene, but only a few years have passed since the events of the first part. The Second World War is raging with might and main. Destruction, hunger, death reign everywhere. In Italy, more and more actively, more and more, they begin to oppress the Jews. They are massively, just in batches, sent to concentration camps. Dora has nothing to fear - she is not Jewish, but she is still afraid - for her husband. And at the same time for his son - strictly speaking, little Josue does not belong to the Jewish nation (Jewry is determined by mother), however, the Nazis, of course, will not delve into such subtleties. The offspring of a Jew means also a Jew. Consequently, both Guido and Josue are in great danger.
Of course, they do not manage to hide from the Nazis all the time. Together with other Jews, Guido and his little son are taken to a concentration camp. The horrors that prevail there are not worth describing - anyone who is even a little familiar with history has heard enough about it. Jews are killed in gas chambers, pushing old people and children there, deceiving them that they simply go to the shower. Guido at all costs wants to save his son and understands that this is possible only if you imagine everything that happens to the baby as a game.
Josue is scared enough. Screams, blood, pain everywhere. He does not understand what is happening, because he is still very small. He really wants to go home, he wants to see his mother ... Father explains to him that they are participating in one big game, the goal of which is to score points. Anyone who gets a thousand points will win, and his prize will be a big, big tank. In order to get points, you need to be very dexterous, agile and patient and follow simple rules: do not cry, do not ask for food and do not catch the eye of the Germans. This invention may be a little awkward, but it is very suitable for a little scared boy who believes his dad and begins to play with all possible excitement. As testimonials from the film “Life is Beautiful” (1997) testify, this is one of the most difficult moments in the entire tape: when you understand that a kid who has his childhood in full swing and who has to play with toys, actually plays with death ...
But back to the plot of the picture. Josue's game continues until the American allies begin to approach the camp. This panics the leadership of the camp, in which chaos begins. Father tells Josue that now is the final stage of the game, you need to hide carefully and do not go out until everything has died down. Josue hides, and Guido sacrifices himself to save his son. The Americans enter the camp and release the prisoners. From his hiding place, little Josue sees a tank - a huge tank travels importantly through the camp. The kid rushes at him at all costs, finally believing that dad was telling the truth - here he is, the tank, his gain! The soldiers raise the child to themselves, and he rides the tank with them.
The last shots of the film "Life is Beautiful" (1997), according to reviews, are no less sentimental than the whole tape - little Josue finally returns to his mother. Needless to say, the picture is difficult, but certainly deserving of being looked at by everyone.
History of creation
Roberto Benigni was inspired by the biography of one of the prisoners of the terrible death camp of Auschwitz, a Jew from Italy, Rubino Romeo Salmoni, who was inspired by the script of his picture. Salmoni managed to survive in Auschwitz (he died relatively recently - in 2011, already at an advanced age) and wrote a book of memoirs about the time spent in this monstrous place. The book was called "I defeated Hitler."
It was Salmoni's biography that was taken as the basis when writing the script for the future film. By the way, the title - “Life is beautiful” - owes the tape to “Testament” of Trotsky, in which there is precisely such a phrase (Trotsky calls on future generations of the world's population to clear this beautiful life from violence and evil). As for the filming, they took place in several small Italian towns, including Arezzo. This city is home to Benigny, which is why it was chosen by him as the scene of the first part of the film.
Director - Roberto Benigni
It's time to say a few words about the director and ideological inspirer of the film "Life is Beautiful" (1997) - Roberto Benigni. He was born at the end of October 1952 in the simplest family. Mom was a weaver, dad mastered three professions at once - a carpenter, a mason and a carpenter. In addition to Roberto, the family had three more senior daughters. The family was in poverty; lived in a hut, in a room without electricity and a toilet.
Later, young Benigni first entered the Florentine Jesuit seminary, but two months later moved to the institute in Prato, where he received the specialty of secretary. At sixteen he left for Milan and began to make his way to the stage. He succeeded only four years later - at the age of twenty, he made his debut on the stage of the Metastasio Theater, playing one of the roles in the "Naked King" by Eugene Schwartz. Around the same time, he began acting in films, gaining fame first in Italy and then beyond its borders (the latter was facilitated by filming by Jarmusch).
The first film directed by Roberto Benigni was released in 1988. It was called The Little Devil, and Benigny played the title role in it himself. Later, other works followed, and in almost all of them Benigni performed male main parts.
The artist is married; his chosen one is Nicoletta Braschi, also an actress. Benigni takes his spouse in all his paintings. The couple has no children.
Leading actors
The role of Guido in the 1997 film "Life is Beautiful" was played by Roberto Benigni himself, as mentioned above. The role of his wife Dora was played by the real wife of Benigni - Nicoletta Braschi. It should be noted separately among the actors of the film "Life is Beautiful" (1997) the tiniest and most unprofessional of them. Little Josue was masterfully played by Giorgio Cantarini.
At the time of filming, the baby was only five years old; he was so impressed by the audience and critics with his game that three years later he was invited to play a role in Gladiator. Today, Giorgio is a fairly successful young actor.
Nicoletta Braschi
Born in Italy in April 1960. She studied drama in Rome, then she began acting and playing in the theater. She does not have world fame, despite the fact that she played with Jim Jarmusch. More known in his native country. I met my husband as a student in 1980, but they started dating three years later, and got married (secretly married) in general in 1991.
At the box office
In Italy, the film "Life is Beautiful" appeared in December 1997, in Europe - in the next few months (in the first half of 1998). But the tape reached Russia only in the middle of the summer of 1999. It is not known why this happened, maybe initially they didn’t want to give a picture to us at all, afraid of failure or considering its theme “uncomfortable”, but changed their minds after seeing ratings and reviews. The film "Life is Beautiful" in 1997, one way or another, was late with us, but aroused keen interest.
In addition, the tape became a participant in many shows: for example, it was shown in Cannes, Montreal, Athens, in Toronto - at all kinds of film festivals.
Awards
"Life is beautiful" has become one of the most talked about paintings of the time. She happened to receive many awards - both as the best film, and for the best male role, and for the best screenplay. She was noted both as the best film in a foreign language, and as the best editing, and as the best soundtrack - but what nominations were not awarded to this film both at the Oscars and at other equally prestigious and significant awards. More than fifty awards in general - that’s what the crop was at the tape.
Interesting Facts
- The legendary singer Montserrat Caballe took part in the work on the film - it is she who performs vocal parts in the film.
- In the film, Jews, including Guido, wear a prison robe with a number. Guido’s number is the same as Charlie Chaplin’s uniform in the movie The Great Dictator, which makes fun of Hitler.
The film "Life is beautiful" (1997): reviews
Spectators praise this picture as one, noting at the same time its penetration and how much it takes for the soul. Masterpiece, touching, heroic - Internet users reward such and not only epithets.
The words “Life is Beautiful” (1997) are also found in such words as “it is difficult to fall asleep after it”, “there is a rethinking of life”, “tightly cuts into memory”, “an unforgettable story”, “will teach you to love and value life”. In general, viewers agree that “Life is Beautiful” is undoubtedly one of the best films ever made in cinema, and definitely recommend it for viewing.