There is so much to say, but I must be succinct. One of my aims on this blog is not only to talk about movies, but also to talk about my experience of them. This movie will always be linked to dating my wife and realizing over time that I had found the person with whom I wanted to spend my life.
In the fall of 1998, I heard about an Italian movie that had been released here in the US. It was billed as a Holocaust comedy. That sounded odd to me. So, Stephanie and I made the drive to West LA (it was only in very limited release at that point) to see this movie. Fittingly, we had just enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal that night and we made our way to the Cecchi Gori art house.
The movie was mesmerizing. I had never felt such a range of emotions before. The film opens with one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen, and closes with tragedy and hope. The film follows Guido (Roberto Benigni, in the role that won him an Oscar), an Italian Jewish man who is watching the Anti-Semitic Nazis' powers rising. In the midst of this, he falls in love with his wife and has a son. As the inevitable happens and the family is taken to the concentration camp, the father devises a way to shield his young son from the horrors around him. Along the way, we come face to face with uproarious comedy and heart breaking cruelty. The film's end is only possible in movies, but the movie is only so powerful because it reflects on horrors that actually took place.
The movie is really divided neatly into halves. The first half is a hilarious and sweet romantic comedy, as Guido wins the heart of his princess. The second half follows the tragic reality of the institutionalized racism of the Nazi regime. Benigni's performance is amazing. He calls to mind great silent comedians like Chaplin and Keaton with this work, but has a sort of scheming and conniving that reminds me of Bugs Bunny. He is able to weave his way through this story (as he also directed the movie) and effortlessly move into the dramatic scenes in which a father is forced to deal with absolute horror.
Benigni's Oscar speeches have become legendary, and rightfully so. But they sort of distract from the simple brilliance of the performance and his direction. This is a story that could have gone astray so easily. Yet somehow, Benigni finds a way to walk the line between comedy and tragedy.
The movie ended. Stephanie and I (while still getting to know each other) look at each other with tears in our eyes. We had seen something special, and the cool thing was, no one else had seen it yet! We felt like we were in on something special. The movie went on to accolades, and Stephanie and I have been married for 11 wonderful years. The themes of this movie have stuck with us, and the strains of its lovely score still transport me back to that very specific time in my life.
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