Roberto Benigni Between Principessas and Tigers


At first, there was "Life Is Beautiful" ("Vita è bella"). In my book, I mean, since that was the first Roberto Benigni film I saw. I had heard about this famous movie, I had seen the director and actor jump like a monkey on his way to the Oscar stage, but I hadn't gotten an occasion to see the movie. I finally got it this spring, in the most suitable company there is. I never thought I could laugh at a movie about the Holocaust. "Life Is Beautiful" interweaves tragedy, laughter, tears and romance in a story that tries to teach us that love of all kinds can survive in the most challenging circumstances. The audience can't help but fall in love with this Jewish Italian family (actually, the mother is not Jewish, which gives the movie a sweet and sour twist). The first part of the movie lets us in the adorable, smart and humorous way in which Guido Orefice charms Dora and convinces her to become his wife. I mean... this may not be the best looking man out there, but I simply fell in love with him... in between falls of laughter and sighs, that is. In the second part, the two and their little boy are taken to a concentration camp, where Dora gets separated from the men of her life. All I can say is that the laughter doesn't stop, no matter how much sadness one might feel. I was never torn between emotions so much; one minute I was laughing, the other one I felt like crying... but couldn't, because Roberto Benigni would give me a reason to at least smile in the next instant. I could not describe all the feelings this movie made me aware of, but every other day I still find myself saying "Buongiorno principessa!", trying in vain to imitate Benigni's joy. I thought the cards scene from "Love Actually" was romantic, but the one from this movie beats it by far, and has much more profound implications.
Tonight I had a second taste of this Italian's boundless personality and sensitivity. Cavilers might argue that "The Tiger and the Snow" ("La tigre e la neve") follows the storyline of "Life Is Beautiful", but I beg to differ. It's true that it presents the horrors of another historical conflict (the Iraq war) and that the plot is based, again, on the intricate ways of love, but this should not lead to underestimating the movie's substance and original humor. Attilio de Giovanni, a poet and university professor, goes to Irak after finding out that his ex-wife, whom he's still in love with, was hurt in an explosion and might die within the next hours. I wouldn't say I liked this one as much as "Life Is Beautiful", but it reinforced my desire of looking for as many of Roberto Benigni's movies as I can. I mean, the guy talks to camels, has keys falling from the sky on request, is smart, incredibly funny and would make the most romantic gestures for his wife (at least in the movies, although I doubt this is the case).