Roberto has done it again. A gentle, loving, yet humorous story.
Roberto Benigni has a sweet way of touching the heart of his audiences.
Bravo!
September 1, 2008The strengths of this film are its unusual plot and excellent art direction. It is incredibly strong on fantasy, whimsy, and romance, but the screenplay is also quite intelligent and has some funny commentary on psychoanalysis, poetry, and literary criticism. I haven't seen "Life is Beautiful" but apparently Mr. Benigni's special talent is taking a wartime setting such as the Holocaust or the U.S. Invasion of Iraq and using these contexts to underscore the potential of human beings to transcend even the most grim and brutal circumstances. While there is something vaguely troubling to me about Mr. Benigni's premise, I give him enormous credit for taking cinema to new places. I was also put off by the frenetic, obsessive way in which Mr. Benigni's character stalks the female lead, as having been a stalking victim myself, I feel that popular culture far too often romanticizes the type of disruptive, mentally unbalanced pursuit of a love object which should actually be criminalized. Despite all this, I found the film very engaging and poignant overall, with a few good laughs for good measure.
July 30, 2008Roberto Benigni does it again as the somewhat bumbling character in The Tiger and the Snow. This is not what you would expect from him if you are used to his comedies, but if you have seen Life is Beautiful, then you know what a great actor he is. This is a love story. It is heartwrenching in places when you feel Benigni's frustration at not being able to get his love the help she needs. Not to spoil it for anyone, but the ending where his love sees the necklace is priceless. A must see!
July 30, 2008Roberto Benigni has again captured the depth and dynamism of human emotion and the beauty, grit, and passion of a world where people constantly struggle between power and love. As a director and actor he has captured, and accurately, portrayed the tension often felt in life between love and pain, excitement and disappointment, hurt and forgiveness. He plays the part of a poet who chooses his profession because he wants to be able to convey exactly what he felt in any given moment to those around him. Yet, this is exactly what he is incapable of doing when he wants to express love - even to his wife. This movie captures a glimpse of the depths of human emotion and the difficulty, even for the poet, to convey what is most desired - love. It manages to be philosophically, artistically, and theatrically astute and rewarding. Benigni has now made two masterpieces highlighting theological virtues - "Life is Beautiful": hope and "The Tiger and the Snow": love. Now we just have to see if he makes another highlighting faith. As always, Nicoletta Braschi is spectacular. She has a gracefulness and charisma that simply endears her to all who watch. This movie is certainly worth having in your collection and is one worth watching many times over.
January 11, 2008 |  | Poetic and like a dream... |  |
It is so amazing how Roberto Benigni can take us traveling through each scene with our hearts caught in our throats... fluttering in suspence, hope, longing. Only then to make us laugh...all this when the world is falling down all around us. He is a genius. A true poet. I thank him for again blessing us with this beautiful story of life and death, love and fear, war and its futility.
December 16, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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