Life is Beautiful
Plot Summary: The film follows an Italian family comprised of a Jewish father(Roberto Begegni as Guido Orefice) , a Catholic mother (Nicoletta Braschi as Dora), and their child (Giorgio Cantarini as Giosue Orefice). As the Nazis take over Italy throughout the War the family makes decisions that will cause them to be separated where all three are placed in a concentration camp. It depicts the family’s efforts to survive and the costs of the Holocaust. Will Giosue win his tank?
An important feature of this film is that it shows the Holocaust from the perspective of a family. The Holocaust divided families and showed how this event had profound effects on Jewish families in the aftermath. Most other feature films display the horrors of the Holocaust through an individualistic perspective but this film shows the journey of each family member as they are split and divided at the concentration camp. In Nazi death camps the old, young and weak were murdered while the stronger prisoners were forced to work extremely long, harsh hours in dangerous environments . This film shows this cruel work environment and shows the difficulties for a child to not only survive in this environment but also to hide. It illustrates the event that caused the world to define genocide through the Geneva Convention. This convention helps governments today quickly decide if there is violation of human rights within a conflict.
