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Life Is Beautiful

Play trailer Poster for Life Is Beautiful PG-13 1998 2h 2m Comedy Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 92 Reviews 96% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
A gentle Jewish-Italian waiter, Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni), meets Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a pretty schoolteacher, and wins her over with his charm and humor. Eventually they marry and have a son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). Their happiness is abruptly halted, however, when Guido and Giosue are separated from Dora and taken to a concentration camp. Determined to shelter his son from the horrors of his surroundings, Guido convinces Giosue that their time in the camp is merely a game.
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Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful

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Critics Consensus

Benigni's earnest charm, when not overstepping its bounds into the unnecessarily treacly, offers the possibility of hope in the face of unflinching horror.

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Critics Reviews

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Ben Dowell The Times (UK) 09/20/2022
Schmaltzy, treacly, saccharine — call it what you like, if you’re not blubbing by the end, check your pulse. Go to Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media 12/25/2010
5/5
Wrenching Holocaust fable with bittersweet humor. Go to Full Review Tom Dawson BBC.com 06/10/2002
2/5
How appealing you find it will probably depend on your response to Benigni's screen-hogging routines -- the line between endearing and irksome is a fine one. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 08/25/2024
10/10
The last act is monumental - in its crushing revelations, the inevitable deterioration and near-misses of the complex charade, and the chance coincidences that constitute alternating hope and despair. Go to Full Review Matthew Rozsa matthewrozsa.com 08/26/2023
3.5/4
"It makes you wonder if “Shakespeare in Love” really deserved the Academy Award for best movie of ’98." Go to Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight 12/25/2022
2/4
“Life Is Beautiful” is quite entertaining and well acted for the most part. Benigni isn’t extremely impressive in the lead role, nor is Cantarini very effective. The plot contains various elements seen in other films and not done much better. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Anthony L Mar 5 Stays away from the actual horrors of the Holocaust in order to make a fairytale based in a conceration camp. See more christopher b 10/04/2022 I’m so glad I was the only person in the theater because I lost it. See more Ed J @jonesedm Aug 11 The power of the movie comes from the contrast between the innocent life that the father tries to preserve for his boy and the nightmare Italy that surrounds them. See more SurvivorAlways 7 @MyLife4Me79 Aug 1 I think the first half was really not my cup of tea. It was too zany funny for my personal taste and it looked and felt like something filmed in the 70s for some reason. I think I would have enjoyed these two people falling in love more, without all the zany comedy. When the tone starts to shift going into the second half it feels like a whole separate film. I didn’t like the tonal shift, even though I did prefer the second half of the movie, to the first half. I understand the point of the film was to show the depths a parent will go to, to protect not just their child’s body, but also their heart and mind. Yet, still so many aspects of this movie felt wrong and not in keeping with things we know to be true about how these camps operated, that it was hard to really take it seriously. Still, the ending was heartbreaking and beautiful all at once. I understand why so many people love and adore this film. I’m just maybe not one of them. It was okay. See more Pam H @Pjh9999 Jul 29 I loved the fact they didn’t show the horrors of the holocaust. We all know and have seen the movies museums horrific horrors. This is not what the movie was about!!!! See more Priyanshu R @Rockstar1339450 Jul 20 I always gone stand with Jewish and hindu people See more Read all reviews
Life Is Beautiful

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Cast & Crew

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Roberto Benigni

Director

Roberto Benigni

Guido Orefice

Nicoletta Braschi

Dora

Giorgio Cantarini

Giosué Orefice

Giustino Durano

Eliseo Orefice

Sergio Bini Bustric

Ferruccio Papini

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Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful (1997) Life Is Beautiful (1997) Life Is Beautiful (1997) Life Is Beautiful (1998) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A gentle Jewish-Italian waiter, Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni), meets Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a pretty schoolteacher, and wins her over with his charm and humor. Eventually they marry and have a son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). Their happiness is abruptly halted, however, when Guido and Giosue are separated from Dora and taken to a concentration camp. Determined to shelter his son from the horrors of his surroundings, Guido convinces Giosue that their time in the camp is merely a game.
Director
Roberto Benigni
Producer
Gianluigi Braschi, Elda Ferri
Screenwriter
Vincenzo Cerami, Roberto Benigni
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Miramax, Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinema, Melampo Cinematografica
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy, Drama, War
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 22, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 25, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$57.6M
Runtime
2h 2m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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