“This is a simple story, but not an easy one to tell. Like a fable, there is sorrow. And like a fable, it is full of wonder and happiness.”
Those are the words that introduce Roberto Benigni’s unforgettable film, Life is Beautiful. The film’s first hour presents itself as a delightful romantic comedy, only in the second hour does it reveal itself as so much more, as a work of art that is deeply profound.
The film’s protagonist is an Italian Jew during WW2 who is sent to a concentration camp along with his young son. To protect his son from the psychological horror of what was happening he convinces his son that the whole thing was an elaborate game that they were participating in.
The prison guards, he explains, are scorekeepers in the game. If you break the rules you lose points. The other prisoners, they are competing with you! What fun! And in the grimmest of environments he is able to use wit and humor and creativity to create this fictional world for his son.
The setting is so deeply sad. And the story within the setting is so deeply sweet. And the film’s message is powerful: the human spirit can always find the hope, love, beauty and optimism around us.
We all have broken hearts about what is happening in the world. It feels so depressing, and so hopeless.
There are moments of hell, so painful that I can’t even bring myself to reference them. And then, there are moments of humanity, even from within the accounts from hell. There are moments of bravery and sacrifice. There are glimmers of hope and optimism.
This is the story of Israel. This is the story of the world.
It is a simple story, but not an easy one to tell. Like a fable, there is sorrow. And like a fable, it is full of wonder and happiness.
Life is Beautiful.
Agreed brother. Life is a contrast of light and dark.
The entire portrait is beauty.